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River swimming in France: 2025 water quality

France reported 444 river bathing waters for the 2025 season. 41% were classified Excellent — 33.4 points below the 74.4% for all 3,378 bathing waters in the country — and 62 were Poor. 71 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 8 countries with at least 30 river bathing waters, France ranks 5 by Excellent share.

444

river bathing waters

41%

Excellent in 2025

62

Poor in 2025

Annual, not live: the 2025 class summarises several seasons of sampling. It does not show today’s pollution, algae or bans.
Where to check today's status in France

Ministry of Health and the Regional Health Agencies (ARS)

Official bathing season: Set locally (typically mid-June – mid-September at sea, July – August inland). The national site shows current-season results, closures and pollution alerts in French, English and German.

Annual EEA classes on this site do not show temporary bans, short-term pollution or algae alerts. Those are published by the competent authority. National information last checked 2026-11-01.

baignades.sante.gouv.fr →

Find the nearest Excellent river to you →

Map of river bathing waters

Excellent 182Good 140Sufficient 33Poor 62Not classified 27
How to read this map: Each dot is one official bathing water, coloured by its 2025 rating. Coloured areas are the regions; region names link to their pages. Sea and large lakes are blue, neighbouring countries grey. Positions: official EEA coordinates. Boundaries: Eurostat NUTS 2024, generalised (© EuroGeographics); lakes: Natural Earth. Outlines are simplified, so a few shoreline dots can sit just offshore.

How river bathing waters in France rated since 2015

Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.

SeasonClassifiedExcellentExcellent sharePoor
202541718243.6%62
202441219246.6%51
202340821252%39
202238320854.3%34
202138320152.5%34
202037520755.2%30
201937621557.2%24
201836821859.2%14
201736321057.9%24
201636418450.5%29
201536817447.3%34

Most consistent Excellent rivers

71 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 60 are shown.

  1. AVAL ST BENOIT A CONFLUENCE DROME 11 seasons
  2. BAIGNADE DU PONT 11 seasons
  3. BAIN DES AMOURS 11 seasons
  4. BAIN JAUNE 11 seasons
  5. BARRAGE DE TOLLA 11 seasons
  6. BASE DE CAIX 11 seasons
  7. BASE DE PLEIN AIR 11 seasons
  8. BASSIN DE LA PASSERELLE 11 seasons
  9. BEAU RIVAGE 11 seasons
  10. BUSSU. USINE HYDRO/ELECTRIQUE 11 seasons
  11. CAMPING MUNICIPAL DU COLLET DE DEZE 11 seasons
  12. CENTRE DE VACANCES DE DOUCHAPT 11 seasons
  13. DORDOGNE CAMP. LE ROCHER DE LA CAVE 11 seasons
  14. DORDOGNE PLAGE DE CAUDON 11 seasons
  15. DORDOGNE PLAGE DE COUX 11 seasons
  16. DROME AMONT DE DIE 11 seasons
  17. DROME AVAL SAILLANS 11 seasons
  18. DROME DE ESPENEL A SAILLANS 11 seasons
  19. ESPACE BASE DE LOISIRS TREBAS 11 seasons
  20. FERRAGUT 11 seasons
  21. FORET DE BONIFATO 11 seasons
  22. HAUTECOURT-ROMANECHE - PLAGE DE L'ILE CHAMBOD RIVIERE D'AIN 11 seasons
  23. HERAULT-AMONT ST GUILHEM 11 seasons
  24. HERAULT-LE LABADOU 11 seasons
  25. HERAULT-PLAGE DE LA MEUSE 11 seasons
  26. HERAULT-SAINT PIERRE 11 seasons
  27. L'ARCHE 11 seasons
  28. L'ARDECHE A LA PLAGE DU GRAIN DE SEL 11 seasons
  29. L'ARDECHE A LA PLAGE DU PONT CASSE 11 seasons
  30. L'ARDECHE AU PONT DU DIABLE 11 seasons
  31. LA BEAUME A LA PLAGE DU PETIT ROCHER 11 seasons
  32. LA GARENNE SUR LA CESSE 11 seasons
  33. LA MADELEINE 11 seasons
  34. LA PLAGE 11 seasons
  35. LA SOUSTA 11 seasons
  36. LE CANAL 11 seasons
  37. LE CASTEL ROSE 11 seasons
  38. LE CHASSEZAC A LA PLAGE DE CHAULET 11 seasons
  39. LE GRAVAS 11 seasons
  40. LE LIGNON A LA PLAGE COMMUNALE 11 seasons
  41. LE MOULIN DE RUNEL 11 seasons
  42. LE MOULIN DU ROURE 11 seasons
  43. LE PONT DU GARD 11 seasons
  44. LE REFUGE 11 seasons
  45. LE ROCHER DE LECQUES 11 seasons
  46. LE RON DE FABRE 11 seasons
  47. LES GORGES DU GARDON 11 seasons
  48. LES LIBELLULES 11 seasons
  49. LES PETITS ESSARDS 11 seasons
  50. LES TINIERES 11 seasons
  51. MAILLY-LA-VILLE 11 seasons
  52. MONTCOCU 11 seasons
  53. ORB-PONT DE BOISSEZON 11 seasons
  54. PARC-PLAGE MONTRICHARD 11 seasons
  55. PISCINES PONT D'AZZANA 11 seasons
  56. PLAGE AVAL BOURG DE LA ROQUE GAGEAC 11 seasons
  57. PLAGE DU BAC DE SORS (ALLES) 11 seasons
  58. PLAGE DU CAMPING DU BUISSON 11 seasons
  59. PLAGE NOIRE 11 seasons
  60. PLAN D'EAU DES ZIZINES 11 seasons

Rivers rated Poor in 2025

2 more in the full directory.

Changes from 2024 to 2025

Improved (43)

Declined (64)

River bathing waters by region

RegionSitesExcellentPoor
Occitanie19052.1%11
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes7538.7%12
Corsica5022%18
Nouvelle-Aquitaine4553.3%3
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté2030%2
Guadeloupe1729.4%2
Île-de-France1118.2%6
Centre-Val de Loire1030%1
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur100%3
La Réunion616.7%1
Martinique30%1

Regions with at least three river bathing waters; counts include only this water type.

Near which major cities?

Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:

Rivers compared across Europe

#CountrySitesExcellentPoor
1Germany3773%0
2Czechia9172.5%0
3Netherlands7869.2%4
4Portugal11843.2%8
5France44441%62
6Poland10040%10
7Spain16435.4%28
8Hungary4533.3%1

Countries with at least 30 river bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.

Quick answers

How many river bathing waters in France are rated Excellent?
182 of 444 (41%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
Which rivers in France have the best long-term record?
71 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example AVAL ST BENOIT A CONFLUENCE DROME, BAIGNADE DU PONT, BAIN DES AMOURS. See the full list.
Can I check current conditions?
The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on baignades.sante.gouv.fr. Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.

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