Where the « Marais perdu » — a vast wetland swallowed by the urbanisation of Les Minimes in the 1970s — once spread, the City of La Rochelle has created a 1.4-hectare coastal park with an ecological and educational mission. Named in tribute to Jean Duvignaud (1921–2007), a writer, sociologist and philosopher born in the city, the park faces the sea from the Pointe du Bout-Blanc, a site that bore the brunt of the flooding brought by Storm Xynthia in 2010. An urban forest planted using the Miyawaki method stands alongside groves, hedgerows, wildflower meadows and brackish marshes, recreating a back-shore ecosystem to encourage the return of local biodiversity. The coastal path leading to the park is named after Paul Virilio, philosopher and friend of Duvignaud, uniting two thinkers of the contemporary world before the Atlantic.
Activity added by the Oxploria team
