Drought: serious concern for the Mediterranean region in France

It’s raining but it’s not really enough. Even if, in France, the precipitations re-wet the soil, the water tables remain lower than normal in three quarters of the country. The situation is even very worrying around the Mediterranean and in the Rhône corridor, after a summer of 2022 already marked by a historic drought .

“We must remain vigilant and anticipate a summer that promises to be complicated,” insisted the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, at the end of the Hydrological Anticipation and Monitoring Committee (CASH) which was held this Thursday, which “Les Echos” were able to attend. The minister had followed the meeting by videoconference from the prefecture of Pyrénées-Orientales, a department which should become this Friday the fourth department placed in a crisis situation, alongside Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and Var.

Human disaster

“There has been no significant rain in this department for over a year, and April promises to be the driest month since 1959,” pointed out Christophe Béchu. The president of the department, Hermeline Malherbe, had arrested Emmanuel Macron at the start of the week, fearing a “human catastrophe”. The prefect had also warned on Tuesday that there would be “difficult decisions to make”, because there “will not be enough water for all uses”.

To date, 46 French departments have been placed in a situation of vigilance, including around twenty in “alert”, “enhanced alert” or “crisis”. The western facade, the center and the east of the country are for the moment spared, while the Côte d’Azur and the Rhône valley are particularly affected.