French locals united in fighting salmon factory project
On Sunday, January 18, 2026, a protest brought together nearly 1,000 people against an absurd salmon “farm” project – Pure Salmon – in Verdon-sur-Mer, South West of France. The message was clear: the local population, from farmers and fishermen to residents living along the river and surfers, is united in rejecting this project. In other parts of France like Brittany and Boulogne, these so-called farms already failed to get off the ground, so why not there as well?
(c) Cyril Nahon, collectif Estuaire 2050
It all could have ended with the public consultation, which concluded on January 19 with more than 20,000 submissions, a historic record and a flood of negative opinions. 99.7% of respondents simply opposed to the project. But a couple of months later, in March, the inquiry commission betrayed public opinion and issued a favorable recommendation.
The good thing is, the public consultation alone is not enough to launch a project. Which means that everything is still possible, and local mobilisation could still derail Pure Salmon. In the following April, people took action again on both banks of the Gironde estuary, spelling and shouting a resounding “NO”!
(c) Cyril Nahon, collectif Estuaire 2050
- With this project, as with so many others, the ethical, environmental and social reasons for opposing it are self-evident:
such a massive livestock operation is yet another attempt by big agribusiness to create a form of agriculture that is increasingly out of touch with reality, artificial and fragile - compared with a conventional farm, only a small number of local jobs will be created, with little need for qualifications or any sense of purpose in the work
- the animals will be close to open water, but will live in conditions contrary to their natural habitat: animal suffering is an inherent feature of factory farming
- situated only 200 metres from a family beach, this project endangers a precious and already degraded natural environment – the Gironde estuary – through the use of experimental technology
- Pure Salmon’s financial arrangements raise fears that it will prove irresponsible, even as it plans to monopolise the equivalent in electricity and water of a town of 40,000 inhabitants
Photos : Cyril Nahon, collectif Estuaire 2050
Translated from Résistance Aux Fermes-Usines (RAFU)
