Tourists who try adventurous sports on holiday with zero or limited experience have been branded dangerous by locals at France’s biggest surfing spots.
Surfing is proving a major draw for have-a-go watersports enthusiasts – but they often don’t have the skills to deal with more challenging waters.
The beaches along France’s Atlantic coast in the Landes region, including Biarritz and Lacanau attract an ever increasing number of people keen to surf every year – but accidents are also on the rise.
Reports of tension between life-long surfers and those who simply want to tap into the summer wave-riding lifestyle, often camping in rented VW vans nearby, have been rife.
Locals have been, say some, getting territorial over their waves, with even pro surfers reporting negative incidents in the water.
Expert cold water surfer Maya Sauer recently vented on social media about an altercation with a local in the waves in the French coastal commune of Hossegor.
Explaining how a freesurfer had clashed with her in the water, she said her group of female surfers – competing in a official contest – were then subjected to verbal abuse, with the man getting ‘physically aggressive’.
She wrote in the now deleted post in June: ‘A big group of freesurfers deliberately paddled out in the contest area.
Surf’s up…for hundreds! Locals in popular French coastal resorts are unhappy about rookie surfers – and even pros – flocking to ride their waves (Pictured: Surfers off La Torche beach in France pictured last summer)
‘They dropped in on us on purpose, yelled at us, insulted us, and got physically aggressive.
‘The lifeguards tried getting everyone out of the water, but they didn’t listen at all.
‘The guy from the video who pushed me off the wave seemed to be proud of what he had done, showing no remorse after being confronted.’
She added that the incident was increasingly common as Europe’s best surf spots become increasingly busy during the height of the summer.
The surfer added: ‘I totally understand that It’s frustrating when your home spot feels more crowded every year.’
Saauer added that she’d been ‘coming to Hossegor for 11 years now, and I’ve seen how the vibe in the water has changed’ and saying ‘there’s a lot of tension’.
A bar worker at foodie beach hut Terramar on Santocha Beach in the Landes region said the numbers of surfers this year has been ‘crazy’, telling Le Monde ‘We’ve never seen so many.’
The 32-year-old says near-misses and accidents in the water have become a common sight.
Vibes: Holidaymakers attracted to the camper van life are pitching up at challenging stretches of coastline that they may not have the skills for
The Biarritz coastline, where surf camps run throughout the summer season, leaving some local residents unhappy
He told the French publication: ‘We regularly see accidents. The locals are complaining.
‘As a result, they come here less often and prefer less easily accessible spots. But all these tourists here are what keep us alive.’
The French region is in the middle of a ‘wave craze’, with thousands taking up surfing since the pandemic.
According to the French Surfing Federation (FFS), 65,000 surf passports, which validate skill levels, were given to people taking up the sport last year in the country, up by 20 per cent from 2014.
Boards that easier to learn on and the arrival of the sport at the Olympics has seen surfing become increasingly popular, often taking away from more traditional watersports such as sailing or kayaking.
