No less than 598 drownings, 177 of which were fatal, have occurred in France since the beginning of June, alerted Public Health France (SPF) on Friday August 11, reiterating its calls for prevention. From June 1 to August 2, the number of drownings certainly fell by 17% compared to the same period of 2022 (724) and by 25% compared to 2021 (797). But three in ten drownings were followed by death in 2023, compared to less than a quarter in 2021, according to SPF, which concludes that “drownings are fewer but more fatal”.
It is among adults that the fatal drownings have been the most numerous until now. Since the beginning of June, the two regions with the most drownings have been Occitanie (134) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (92), with Brittany being the region with the highest proportion of drownings followed by deaths (26 out of 38 drownings). , or 68%).
In June 2023, which was however the second hottest month of June since 1946, the climatic conditions – temperatures, rainfall and sunshine – were less favorable for swimming in the southern half of France, noted SPF. Conversely, in June 2021, the lifting of anti-Covid restriction measures associated with favorable swimming weather could “explain part of the large number of drownings”, according to the health agency.
1000 deaths per year
In France, drownings are responsible for about a thousand deaths each year, including about four hundred in the summer. Active and permanent supervision of young children, learning to swim as early as possible, choice of secure areas, vigilance in the face of the weather are among the prevention recommendations.
A sign that swimming is an activity to be taken seriously, the prefecture of Nouvelle-Aquitaine on Friday called on swimmers “to the greatest vigilance” this weekend because of a “maximum risk for the currents of baïnes” on everything the regional coastline, from Pyrénées-Atlantiques to Charente-Maritime. Natural pools of innocuous appearance, baïnes are responsible for several drownings each year. They form between the beach and a sandbank but their strong currents can quickly drag swimmers out to sea.
