Asian tourists take photos (and take selfies) in a lavender field on the Valensole plateau (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) in 2015. ZINTZMEYER / ALPAKA / ANDIA.FR
The sources of the Huveaune are dry. And that doesn’t bother Jean-Claude Hoog at all, the first deputy (without label) of the village of Nans-les-Pins (Var), from where this coastal river that plunges from the foothills of Sainte-Baume into the Mediterranean Sea near Marseille. “Without water there are no visitors! “Blows the chosen one as if relieved not to meet anyone as he trudges along these magnificent pools of white tuff shaded by rows of oaks.
On March 18, 2019, the water was flowing when a photographer from Marseille posted a dozen photos of the springs on his Facebook page. Miniature emerald waterfalls shimmering in the sun, pools colored turquoise blue by the cyanobacteria of the undergrowth… Irresistible shots, liked and commented on by thousands of people, whose effects have traumatized the inhabitants of this Provençal village of 4,700 inhabitants. “The next day we saw hundreds of people arriving… There was a stampede,” the elected official recalled.
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Nans-les-Pins is not the first town to be overwhelmed by idyllic photos on social networks, especially on Instagram. On Facebook’s sister social network, the hashtag #huveaune lists 2,000 posts, the vast majority after March 2019.
At that time, according to the publication of the Marseille photographer, vehicles stopped astride the department 80 leaving the village towards Sainte-Baume. The Sermax factory parking lot, the last location before the springs, is stormed. And on the banks of the river, in a Natura 2000 protected area and in the heart of a national forest managed by the National Forest Service (ONF), everyone tries to get closer to the pools to take a selfie or suck it in. the feet. Causes irreversible damage in these porous rocks sculpted by thousands of years of concretions.
lavender fields
Surprisingly, the sources of the Huveaune were until then one of the well-kept secrets of green Provence. In May 2021, almost 4,000 people visited the site, according to the meters installed by the Sainte-Baume Regional Park; of these, 42% had discovered the sources on the Internet or via the media.
A municipal decree now prohibits access to the pools and swimming in the Huveaune, walking off marked paths and uncontrolled parking. A special car park has been set up in the heart of the village with signs indicating the springs.
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