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Saving A French Cultural Icon

On its own, Mont-Saint-Michel has stood for 13 centuries just off the coast of France, as a lasting symbol of the power the country has wielded, and is today a modern reminder of the France of old as well as the most popular tourist destination in the Republic outside of the capital of Paris. However, this island monument to French power is being assaulted, double-teamed by the effects of an invasion of silt and sea grass. Mont-Saint-Michel is now in danger of joining the European continent unless the French can figure out a way to stem the tide.

Says Fran?ois-Xavier de Beaulaincourt, a leading figure in the efforts to stem the advance of the shoreline against Mont-Saint-Michel, says ?If we don`t do anything at all, in 40 years Mont-Saint-Michel will be part of the continent.? Joel Barbadette, who runs museums on the island of Mont-Saint-Michel, puts it in slightly blunter terms: ?Without the sea, it is not Saint-Michel.? Le Mont-Saint-Michel is located about one kilometer off the Normandy coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River.

The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, on June 16 announced a 150 million euro project to save the cultural icon of France that is Mont-Saint-Michael, called simply ?Le Projet Mont Saint Michel?. Mont-Saint-Michel Mayor Patrick Gaulois, one of just twenty-six permanent residents of the island, said ?The project may fail, but if we don`t do anything against the silt, it will inexorably get worse. Being an island is part of its strong identity - a gem in the sea.?