Coastal vulnerabilities under the deliberation of stakeholders: The case of two French sandy beaches

Coastal environment systems are always exposed to natural phenomena such as erosion and submersion, and climate change is likely to increase these phenomena and their related vulnerability. The decision whether or not to protect the coast from an extreme weather event is not only based on technical data, but must also take into account its social acceptability. The involvement of stakeholders thus appears as a risk governance option. By using a scenario (both physical and socio-economic) and workshop methodology, we compare the deliberations and recommendations made by stakeholders facing a storm scenario in two different locations on the French Atlantic coast in the future (2030): Truc Vert and La Tresson-Noirmoutier. Group deliberations were content-analyzed in order to reveal the main directions taken by the debate. A conservative ‘wait and see’ option was favored in the less occupied region (Truc Vert), and a more protective option was preferred in the polderised and more intensively inhabited region of La Tresson-Noirmoutier.