Spits on the French atlantic and channel coasts: morphological behaviour and present management policies

Spits are present all along the Channel and Atlantic coasts of France. They belong to different types, depending on their composition and genesis. Some of them were initiated when RSL stabilized about its present level, 2,500 years ago. Many others are much more recent and were created when major land-use changes took place in mainland watersheds. Soil erosion increased the fluvial sediment supply and many river mouths were stabilized. All these spits continue to evolve under variable degrees of human control (mainly on sediment delivery). This paper present three examples (Arçay, Talbert, Cayeux) which illustrate the main types of issues faced by coastal planners dealing with spits in western France