Le sentier du littoral sur les côtes françaises en 2019

• On the mainland, nearly 5,350 km of coastal trail are open, including 1,420 km under the pedestrian right-of-way easement. 1,200 km will be opened in the short term or are under study. In the medium term, this will bring the total trail length to 6,550 km. • Due to its extensive coastline, Brittany concentrates 2,800 km of open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study, with a significant portion in Finistère and Morbihan. The Normandy, New Aquitaine, and Provence–Alpes–Côte d'Azur regions also have substantial lengths (over 600 km each).

Overseas, approximately 450 km of coastal trail are open, including 105 km under the pedestrian right-of-way easement. Guadeloupe concentrates 254 km of open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study, and Martinique has nearly 120 km.

• The decision to open a trail by the State's decentralized services integrates several parameters: • Land structure along the coast: private/public owners, plot size; • Topography; • Risk of cliff or low to medium rocky coast collapse; • Presence of large wetland areas; • Presence of significant built-up zones, including inaccessible ones.

In 2019, nearly 5,350 km of coastal trail are open on metropolitan coasts. Approximately half, 2,700 km, concerns public land outside the Coastal Conservancy and Lake Shores. Slightly more than a quarter use private land under the pedestrian right-of-way easement along the coast. 8.5% are open on land acquired by the Coastal Conservancy and Lake Shores. The portion of coastal trail ensuring continuity, namely sections inland when the coast is inaccessible (port, military installation, fragile area, etc.), represents 15% of the open trail length. Finally, 10% of the total reported trail length is declared inaccessible.

• Coverage of the coast by open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study is heterogeneous on metropolitan coasts. With its extensive and indented coastline, Brittany alone concentrates nearly 2,800 km of trail. Normandy, Provence–Alpes–Côte d'Azur, and New Aquitaine regions each have over 600 km of trail, respectively 880 km, 720 km, and 670 km. Despite its high coastal length, Corsica has only 160 km of open trail. • The North Atlantic–Western Channel coast thus presents 3,270 km of open trail, open in the short term, or under study; the Mediterranean perimeter represents 1,380 km; the Eastern Channel–North Sea coast has 1,250 km; and the South Atlantic coast presents 670 km. • The length of open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study is substantial on Finistère (1,233 km) and Morbihan (888 km) coasts. It is significant on the coasts of Manche (549 km), Côtes d'Armor (536 km), Charente-Maritime (384 km), Var (329 km), Vendée (312 km), Bouches du Rhône (279 km), Pas-de-Calais (230 km), and Hérault (219 km). • The majority of trail lengths cross public land outside the Coastal Conservancy. • Coastal Conservancy land represents a significant portion of trail in Corsica and Pas-de-Calais. • Depending on coast type, the legal nature of land used by the trail differs. Public land outside the Coastal Conservancy is important on low coasts, where beaches allow free pedestrian passage. This is the case in Hérault, Aude, Gironde, Loire-Atlantique, and Vendée. Conversely, trails from right-of-way easements are overrepresented on higher coasts, where the trail uses private land. This is the case in Var, Brittany, Manche, or Corsica. In these areas, the portion of trails open in the short term or under study is also high because they are often trail projects on private land under easement (approved easement with work in progress, approved easement with work not completed, unapproved easement with public inquiry, etc.). Finistère and Morbihan departments alone account for nearly one-third of sections open in the short term or under study.

• Territories crossed by open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study are representative of land use near the coast, compared to land use across all territories of the 693 coastal communes involved in the analysis (accounting for new communes as of 01/01/2019). Thus, on the mainland, 23% of territories crossed by the entire open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study are artificial areas. Artificial areas across all metropolitan coastal communes represent only 15% of land use. Along the trail, approximately 60% of territories are classified as natural areas and water surfaces and wetlands (this share is around 40% across all coastal communes). Along the trail, 21% of territories are agricultural land. These agricultural lands represent 41% of all land use in coastal communes. See methodology in appendix. • Overall, the coastal trail crosses approximately 25% of its length through artificial areas, compared to 5% for forests and 40% for marine natural environments (beach and dunes, maritime marshes and lagoons, intertidal zones and estuaries). Land use along the trail also shows significant disparities between coasts. • Thus, the Mediterranean and South Atlantic coasts are characterized by a high share of trails crossing artificial areas (over 25%). Conversely, trails along the Eastern Channel–North Sea coast strongly interact with grasslands and agricultural land (33%). Compared to all territories crossed, trails within forests are overrepresented along the South Atlantic coast. Finally, marine natural environments remain very present on all coasts, between 30 and 45%.

Three-quarters of the 450 km of open trail overseas cross public land, of which 30% on Coastal Conservancy and Lake Shores property. The share of trail crossing land acquired by the Coastal Conservancy is greater than on the mainland. One-quarter of open trail concerns private land under the longitudinal shoreline easement.

In detail, the open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study is very important in Guadeloupe with nearly 250 km of length, of which one-quarter crosses land acquired by the Coastal Conservancy. Martinique has approximately 120 km of open trail. Easements are very important there, with more than three-quarters of trail using private land. Its west coast has no trail due to its topography (steep coast, succession of hills, ravines, waterways, etc.) and a heavily trafficked national road. The trail length in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is significant relative to the territory's size, with nearly 80 km of open trail, of which one-quarter runs on land acquired by the Coastal Conservancy. The Saint-Martin Island National Nature Reserve has 4 coastal trails with a total length of 10 km, all crossing land acquired by the Coastal Conservancy.

• The typology of territories crossed by open coastal trail, open in the short term, or under study differs from that observed on the mainland. Artificial areas crossed are less present, 15% for Guadeloupe and 8% for Martinique (approximately 25% on the mainland). Territories crossed are at least 65% natural environments (slightly more than on the mainland). Approximately 25% of territories crossed concern marine natural environments (intertidal zones and lagoons). The coastal trail also travels more through forest (20% of territories crossed in Martinique and 13% in Guadeloupe compared to 5% on the mainland). In Martinique, mangroves represent 5% of territories crossed; they are 3% in Guadeloupe. Finally, in Guadeloupe and Martinique, approximately 15% of territories crossed are agricultural areas. In Martinique, half of the agricultural areas crossed are sugarcane and banana plantations.

• Map of open trail, open in the short term, or under study on the mainland and overseas. Click on the map to access data. Illustration 1363 Enlarge and view this illustration in full size (same window). Illustration 1363 • Information on the creation of this sheet. • Definition and typology of coastal trail. • Data collection. • Géolittoral. • Geographic scope. • Methodology. • Authors. • Writing date.