Particle.news
Download on the App Store

About 100 Plunge in Marseille as New Year Swims Span Provence

Organizers cast the tradition as a celebration of public access to the sea.

Overview

  • In Marseille, roughly a hundred people entered the water at Petit Roucas Blanc in a Libres Nageurs–organized swim.
  • Organizers put the sea at about 13–13.4°C with air near 10°C under cloudy skies and a biting mistral.
  • Participants called the dip invigorating or cathartic as musicians played on the sand and hot drinks awaited on shore.
  • In La Ciotat, bathers at the calanque du Mugel marked the day with a bracing plunge into cold water.
  • In L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, the long-running Sorgue river immersion continued despite a posted bathing ban, according to organizer Alain Nicolas.