Overview
- Authorities confirmed that a 56-year-old German woman was swept to her death near Lège-Cap-Ferret and that a man in his about 60s died near Lacanau during the holiday weekend.
- Local rescue teams report they have pulled some 31 people from dangerous currents since Friday and used helicopters and lifeguards in multiple interventions.
- The Préfecture du département Gironde has renewed a warning about unusually strong currents and urged 'maximum vigilance' for beachgoers and local officials.
- The region's hazard comes from baïnes, short, funnel-shaped rip currents that form when water trapped by waves flows back through gaps in sandbars and can quickly carry swimmers offshore.
- Officials have prepositioned rescue resources and asked visitors to use only guarded beaches, and the deaths are likely to prompt stricter patrols and public-safety messaging ahead of the summer season.