The French Riviera's popularity in summer is threatened by increasing heatwaves and wildfires linked to climate change. Photo / 123rf
The French Riviera has long been the go-to destination for those desperate to soak up some summer sun.
But its once balmy coastal weather is increasingly prey to a series of punishing heatwaves and forest fires linked to climate change – not to mention swarms of pesky mosquitoes.
Now, a picturesque medieval town in Brittany that most French people have never heard of has shot to the top of a national ranking of best places to live as a result of the country’s changing climate.
Fougères’ sudden claim to climate fame comes as rising temperatures are shifting mentalities regarding where to holiday or indeed buy a house in France and other European countries.
Traditionally cool and wet regions such as Brittany and Normandy are turning into increasingly attractive alternatives to beat the heat.
Against that backdrop, Le Parisien newspaper has released a national ranking of the best and worst towns in France with a population of over 20,000 in which to live in the coming decades.
Compiled from data by national forecaster Météo France, the list is based on criteria that include average temperature in 2050 and 2100, number of very hot days, number of tropical nights, as well as the risk of flooding and forest fires.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a string of towns and cities in southern France are bottom of the list, with the south-western fishing port of Sète ranked last. Others near the bottom are Marseille and Avignon.
The top end, meanwhile, is filled with towns in Normandy and Brittany, and the Hauts-de-France.
To the delight of its town hall, in pole position is Fougères, population 20,600.
Half an hour from Rennes and 40 minutes from Mont Saint-Michel, the town gained considerable wealth via the textile and crystal glass industry and was long France’s shoemaking capital. But the only evidence of this is now in the town’s museum.
With no train connection, and some way from the coast, Fougères doesn’t attract anything near the summer crowds you get in resorts like Saint-Malo, where some locals rail against over-tourism.
But gazing down at its pretty cobbled streets from atop Saint Léonard’s church, it’s easy to see why Fougères (French for “fern”) has such impeccable climate credentials. Trees, greenery, and waterways are everywhere you look, with valleys and surrounding forests bringing fresh air and water to the town.
As well as its medieval walled fortress – Europe’s largest – the town relied on its humid, marshy surroundings as a natural protection against the marauding English during the Hundred Years War.
Now, Mother Nature is providing a different line of defence against the common enemy of global warming, according to Diana Lefeuvre, the town’s deputy mayor in charge of green transition.
“Its strengths lie in the fact that it is quite high up, it is protected by a beach forest that keeps it cool and provides drinking water, notably via drains built 200 years ago. It is hilly and has three waterways running through it. In fact, the city and castle were built around the river,” she said.
“We’ve also planted a lot of trees. There are 7000, one for every three inhabitants, and these green lungs are one of our most important assets.”
It is also well-positioned in terms of the Atlantic coast, far enough to avoid flood risks but near enough to gain from cooler, more temperate sea air.
“It’s better to be fairly close to the coast but not right on it, especially if the coastline is low-lying and sandy,” said Olivier Cantat, climatologist at the University of Caen Normandy.
“Towns located further inland should fare better.”
Size is also important. Bigger cities trap the heat and risk becoming “urban heat islands”, he added.
Situated about 25 miles inland, Fougères may escape with fewer than five days of very high temperatures (at least 35C) and only about 10 tropical nights (when temperatures fail to fall below 20C) by 2100.
By contrast, more than 100 nights a year could be tropical on the Mediterranean coast and in the Provence hinterland by 2100, twice as many as in recent decades.
Average maximum temperatures in summer are likely to exceed 30C by the end of the century. On some days, the thermometer will climb to around 50C.
Matthieu David, a French-British PhD student at Caen Normandy University, has spent three summers studying tourist habits on northern French beaches on the nearby Norman Cotentin peninsula.
He found that just under half came for what he called “the strategic quest for coolness”.
“These people have a probabilistic approach to heatwaves. That is, they’re not going to come because a heatwave is forecast but because there’s a chance that they can avoid one at home when they come on holiday in the summer.”
A quarter beat a tactical retreat as a knee-jerk reaction to a heatwave forecast, “and decided to go somewhere cool”.
He said that in both cases, “the idea of climate refugees is starting to emerge”.
“When you dig deeper, you realise they don’t have the same motivations as traditional tourists.”
While officials in Fougères were clearly pleased for the town to be singled out, Lefeuvre warned the region couldn’t handle a major influx.
“We can only welcome so many people because one mustn’t forget that in Brittany we have limited water resources and are already suffering from drought,” she said.
And even if it is better equipped to withstand global warming extremes in the short term, Vincent Dubreuil, vice-president of the Higher Breton Climate Council, said: “Brittany isn’t going to be spared from climate change. Fougères will be 4C warmer at the end of the century, just like everywhere else.”
According to his calculations, by then, nearby Rennes will have the same climate as Coimbra in central Portugal.
“You may say that’s not a problem, except handling such spectacular changes in a short period of time is no easy feat.
“The key message is that climate change concerns all regions and there’s as much adapting to be done to it in Brittany as anywhere else.”
French experts said that similar towns in Britain would have topped the rankings too, given the UK’s latitude and island status.
However, Lefeuvre advised against complacency on either side of the Channel.
“In the latest projections, there are question marks over the sea currents that allow Brittany, but also Great Britain, to enjoy this favourable climate. If the current stops, we will have a continental climate and that would change everything,” she said.
“It’s a lottery. When we talk about climate change, we still don’t really know exactly what this change will actually bring.”
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