The French and German coastal regions on the climate change frontline

Climate change is eating away Europe’s coastlines. In the German Wadden Sea, holms and islands are under threat – and in French Normandy giant cliffs crumble more and more frequently. Erosion is speeding up. Sea levels are rising. Climate change is getting serious.

Too much wind, waves too high – captain Stéphane Dodivers had some doubts about confirming this trip. But finally, let’s go. Destination: the chalk cliffs of Etretat.

In spite of the strong currents, the French skipper of La Mer Pour Tous risks the passage.

Here in the Normandy region, rocks are cracking down. We travel to those places where global warming is visible, where climate change has already started.

How long can the Normandy chalk cliffs withstand climate change? Brutal changes in temperatures, extreme rainfall and the waves of rising sea waters are digging stronger and higher into the cliffs’ basements.

“The changes here around are huge. We moved from around three major cliff crash events per year to now a dozen crashes,” says Dodivers. “And we are just talking about this 30km part of the Normandy coastline. Personally, I feel very sad about this, because it means that the cliffs will have another face and, for certain in a few decades the arcs of Etretat won't exist any longer”.

Global warming is a lot to blame: we have high temperatures and a lot of rainfall. The abundant water infiltrates the cliffs from top-down. This water intrusion triggers the breakdown of the chalk.

Village mayor Raphaël Lesueur takes me downhill to the famous pebble beach of “Tilleul”. He banned access to the risk zone and chases off imprudent tourists.

We move on to see the site of a second crash, even bigger in size compared to this first one here. How do you explain this event?

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