Échappées belles – Côtes d’Armor, la Bretagne en action

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Échappées belles – Côtes d’Armor, la Bretagne en action 7 juin 2025

Les Côtes d’Armor sont un territoire baigné par la Manche et l’Atlantique, sculpté par les vents et façonné par une relation viscérale à la mer. Au fil de ses rencontres, Ismaël Khelifa va découvrir que ce lien à l’océan n’est pas qu’économique ou géographique. Il est culturel, spirituel, presque mythique. Ici, la mer est une mémoire vivante et une source d’identité profonde. Les Bretons vivent avec, parfois contre, mais toujours en lien étroit avec son rythme. Elle nourrit les chants, les légendes, les traditions, et façonne l’identité d’un peuple fier et résilient. Ce voyage iodé et authentique, entre terre et mer, invite à ralentir, à écouter les récits du large et à sentir battre le coeur d’une Bretagne profondément maritime.

Sound of the waves. Cries of the seagulls. … -The Pink Granite Coast in Côtes-d’Armor. This landscape has been a dream of mine for a long time. I grew up in the mountains and saw it in books when I was a child. For me, it represents all the intensity and strength of the ocean, of nature , and that end-of-the-world feel specific to Brittany. Sound of the sea. Cries of the seagulls. … Hi, Laurence. -Hi, Ismaël. -How are you? -Yes, and you? Under this Breton sun. -I love the meeting spot. -It’s a bit magical. -Shall we kiss here? Hi. -With our hair. Sorry. -We’re in the mood. I’m happy to start here, because it’s really the place I wanted to see when I arrived here. It’s a rich region. -Yes. Very rich on a human level, because over a shared aperitif on a beach, you might very well meet a sailor who’s already been around the world three times. -And do you often sail around here? -Almost every day. This morning, since the sea isn’t beautiful, we’re avoiding giving the passengers survival courses. The idea is to help them discover another environment, let go of their daily lives, and experience lots of extraordinary adventures they wouldn’t have imagined. -Yes. It sounds tempting. The sound of the waves. … How do you explain why these rocks are pink? Because it’s not just sunlight. -300 million years ago, there were magma pockets under the Armorican Massif, which crystallized very slowly and generated these pink rocks that gave rise to this granite chaos. And this pink comes from iron oxides. That’s what gives it this color. -And I think I saw a small black ball on the surface of the water. -A gray seal. -It was moving too much for a pebble. -All the rocks that move their heads are seals. And we can call them by saying: She blows and whistles. And often, they stick their heads out of the water to see if it’s not a fellow seal. -Go ahead. Do it again. She blows and whistles. … There, look. It’s right there. -It’s looking at us out of the corner of its eye. -Huge! I feel that this trip is going to be intense. -And full of rich discoveries. … -In the Côtes-d’Armor… -It’s magical to see that. -You’ll love some more salty air. -I had only one dream: to go far away. -On the northernmost point, we have water quality A. We’re lucky to have magnificent oysters thanks to that. -Ismaël Khelifa. -It’s good. It’s the best oyster tasting of my life. There’s nothing better. -You can’t be too early or too late. You have to be punctual. -They call it the white gold of the bay. There’s a reason. -In Brittany. -It’s Léon wheat. A breed specialized in butter. -There isn’t a religious event, a community event, etc. without sausage pancakes. -Excellent! -It’s like a dance on the sand. The tide creates a rhythm. -And when Ismaël loves… -How beautiful it is! It’s sublime. -Are you stressed? -Yes. To be a burden to you. -You can see it. -What a thrill to be here! Freedom. Here, here, we feel alive. -Come on. Hoist high! There! It’s good. 1! 2! 3! -It’s so beautiful. -I’ll serve the coffee. -No. -Yes. -Hold the waves instead. You’ll see. Coffee? I didn’t tie my hair down. There’s sugar, madeleines. Make yourself at home. -It’s the best! -Yes. -I really like the atmosphere. It’s very mysterious. I feel like I’ve been transported to the seaside. Not to my fantasies of Brittany. -There, you can’t see anything. Sailors hate the fog, because it requires more vigilance. We slow down. We pay attention to everything. But yes, the atmosphere is mysterious. -Where does this boat come from? Was it used for work before? -It’s a replica of the lobster boats that were built in Camaret in the 1920s . We’re arriving at Ile-aux-Moines. -Oh yes! OK. It’s just as I imagined. -Just like that. You can’t see anything. Bird calls. … -Why is this island called Ile-aux-Moines, Laurence? -Because there were monks here in the 15th century, in 1432. The Pope at the time thought that life on land was too decadent. I don’t know what he would say today. The idea was for the monks to live in complete destitution. They stayed there for about fifty years. Sound of waves. … Bird calls. … We’re arriving on the west side, under the fort. And we already have gulls nesting just above there. So, we’re not going to disturb them. They’re incubating. -Are these islands in this reserve known for their bird colonies? -Yes. They come here to breed. Look at a flight. -It’s beautiful! It’s so poetic. Bird calls. … Ah! But that’s your boat. -Yes. It’s beautiful from afar too. -Magnificent! Wow! Wait, but the perspective there. It’s completely crazy. And how did you end up becoming a boat captain and taking people to visit these islands? -The context. Denis Le Bras, who built this boat, who lives in Perros-Guirec, did this job for 35 years. He shared his passion for the Sept-Iles. And my partner and I were looking for a traditional sailboat. He offered to buy the Sant C’hireg. We did it in 2020. And in fact, my partner died at the end of April 2022. And then, I started sailing again at the end of May with some captain friends. We’re close in the world of the sea. -What do you like about these islands? -I like to share coherently with the passengers. Ecologically. The idea is to prioritize sailing. The least disturbance for the birds, for the seals. And I like being at sea. It’s calming. It’s beautiful. I shared that with Manu. Manu, he’s everywhere around me. He’s in the wind, in the waves, in the birds. He’s at sea since we put his ashes at sea. So there you go, I’m here with him too. Bird calls. Do you want to steer, Ismaël? -OK. -There’s a rock there. You have to push the tiller a little towards me or we’ll run aground on it. -Wow! Hey! We have to go. -That’s some muscle. -How many tons does this boat weigh? -30 tons. -Well, we can feel we’ve got them under the hood. -That’s it. -Oh! It’s magical to see that, Laurence! -Northern gannet pairs in full breeding mode. -It looks like a pirate island. How many gannets are there here? -So since last year’s count, we’re at 14,124 pairs. They only lay one egg and then they leave. -How lucky to see that! It was a real challenge with the fog. -We’re going to celebrate. Music. … Hurrahs. -Bravo! Hubbub. -That’s a young gray seal. Quite wary animals . There are even two of them. We’re keeping our distance. -A few kilometers off the coast of Perros-Guirec, the Sept-Iles reserve is a wild world where only a few men like Pascal and his team are invited to observe the spectacle of untamed nature. -There, they reinvest the places, the seabirds. So there, the puffins. The gulls on the beaches. These are sanctuary islands for nature. -In this rocky chaos Free of all predators, 18,500 birds of 11 different species come to nest in the oldest French ornithological reserve. On Rouzic Island, the largest colony of northern gannets carpets the landscape in white. Bird calls. Close to the flock of birds, about a hundred days a year, scientists from the League for the Protection of Birds come to decipher the rituals of this excellent diver. -Here, we are in the early breeding period. You have a body language that helps consolidate the couple’s union and also to give information to the neighbors, because the nests are spaced 60 cm from each other and therefore our job is to monitor the colony, ensure that there is no disturbance, to be a bit like the guardians of the temple. -A refuge for wildlife, to the rhythm of migrations, the colonies increase every year. Far from humans, the conservation of these islands has helped protect the largest gathering of seabirds in the country. About twenty nautical miles away, gentle Bréhat has chased away the clouds. Car-free, for its 427 year-round inhabitants, the island is an invitation to stroll on foot or by bike. -Hello! -Hello! -The wind is in your hair. You feel very free on a bike. It’s a different relationship with time. It’s a different relationship with distances, because our world is completely reduced. We are 3.4 km long by 1.2 km. -Among the Breton islands, Bréhat was one of the first to embrace tourism. Today’s postcard shows opulent villas surrounded by flower gardens. Having lived on the island for eight years, Ewen works on about ten gardens, aided by the warm current from the Atlantic. -Thanks to the Gulf Stream, we have a very mild microclimate. We don’t have frost. We have good rainfall and regular sunshine. It’s a bit like the whole island with flowers condensed into a garden with ceanothus and aeoniums. We’re going to have artichokes ready to eat. We’re truly in a rich environment with plants arriving from everywhere , and for me, it’s the most beautiful garden on the island. -If Bréhat likes to display his exoticism, the young gardener prefers more discreet landscapes. Moors and meadows that he entrusts to 5 very greedy workers. -Well, girls! We like that. Right? Come on. Go ahead. These sheep are eco-grazing. They’re there to maintain the landscapes and keep them open. 3/4 of this land was brambles and ferns 2 years ago. Bringing in sheep means finding peace and quiet. Because here, in the summer, they shear everywhere. It’s noisy, even though we have a magnificent location. They’re eco-friendly mowers. They take advantage of nature. -In Bréhat, animals and people alike seem to have found an island paradise. A few meters further on, another herd catches the eye. Fed on grass and hay, Anne-Laure’s 11 cows are the only dairy cows on the island. -They’re outside all year round . They’re Jersey cows. They’re well adapted. Today, they have a view of the chapel. But they still have a view of the sea quite often. -Clinging to her island, which she has almost never left, Anne-Laure has inherited a strong character, a memory of a time when women stayed on dry land while their husbands went to sea. After taking over her mother’s farm in 2019, she relaunched the direct sale of products from the farm. -There’s almost everything. Yogurts, fromage blanc, rice pudding. It’s a choice to work alone. It’s a habit. If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be able to raise livestock on the island. Good day. -Flower Island or Bird Island, in the Côtes-d’Armor, the archipelagos reveal plenty of pieces of fragmented land and as many stories of enthusiasts who work to preserve them. Bird calls. … -Hi. How are you? Is this your boat? -No. It belongs to Pierre-Yves. -Ah! Okay. -It’s for sale and rental. -I didn’t know he bought it. -I’ll shake your hand. -Yeah. -Guirec? Hi! -Ah! Hi. -How are you? -Yes. -Pleased to meet you. Hello. Ismaël. Pleased to meet you. Do you go boat shopping? -No, but when I see aluminum hulls like that, it intrigues me. Plus, I know it’s for sale, so I came to see. -He’s buying it. He’s putting a great price on it. -Thanks for financing it for me. -That’s clear. And this is where you arrived when you finished your world tour? -Yes. After 5 years with Monique. -Was she your hen? -Yes. -You sailed around the world with your hen on your sailboat. -Yes. There were a few adventures. I went to prison in Canada because of her. I hibernated in the ice of Greenland. I had a fresh egg a day. -People must have been hallucinating. -They had never seen a hen in their lives in Greenland. -And then after, you did the Vendée Globe. You arrived in Les Sables-d’Olonne at the beginning of 2025. That must have been crazy too. -In 3 months, you sailed around the world. It’s crazy how fast these boats go. And the difference with my first expedition is that there, I had my wife and children waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to see them again. -You made us dream. -That’s nice. The boat is for sale if you’re interested. -No. I’m not a seaman. I really wanted to come to Paimpol because I was lulled by the story of the fishermen who went to Iceland. -In the 1800s, there were up to 70 schooners in the port of Paimpol and the guys would go out to sea for 7 months on small boats of 20, 30m. They would come back with 20 to 100 tons of cod. -That kept the town alive in the end. -At one point, Paimpol was the most populated town in Côtes-d’Armor. -Did you spend a lot of time in Paimpol when you were a kid? -Yes. I spent time there, but after that, it’s true that I know the streets, but I know the rocks and the beacons in the area better. Oh well! There’s my latest book. -Great! -And I did my first book signing in 2019. And I arrive with Monique in her wooden cage and I see people in the street. I wonder what’s going on. It was all the people waiting for a book signing. They were more curious to see Monique. -Or both of them . -Hi. How are you? -Impeccable. -Pleased to meet you. -So? -What’s the specialty ? -Butter and sugar. It’s the basics. I have butter. -Go for it. -You have to. We like it here. -It’s going to be delicious. -There you go! -Me, salted butter caramel. Hmm! -It’s good, huh? -Caramel rocks. -What you miss most at sea is food. We like to come back to eat. -What do you find offshore that you can’t find on land? I don’t know the sensations. -The sea is one of the last places where you’re free. I wish I could have lived 100 years earlier. My saddest regret is not having lived through those years of fishing and adventure. Those guys who were really going. They were very brave. Tractor engine. … I want you to meet Yves-Marie, who is a great friend. He is like a brother to me. It’s better to be friends with him. Grand MMA champion. -Oh yeah? -Hey! -Are you okay? -Hi. Ismaël. -Nice to meet you. -We’re coming for an MMA class. -It’ll be fun. -Yes. -No throwing sand in the eyes. -Is this your farm? -You’re on one of the reserves where we store oysters on days when there aren’t many tides. We store them in these cages and lay them down, so they can breathe properly and survive a week before being sold. -Why is this terroir special compared to what’s done elsewhere? -We’re on the northernmost tip of Brittany, so we have a lot of water flowing through. A-grade water quality. We’re lucky to have magnificent oysters thanks to that. -These sea conditions make it possible to produce sailors and very good oysters. -When I was younger, when I was old enough to be able to work, my summer jobs were with Yves-Marie here. Good memories. -Did you exchange when you were at sea? -Yes. Often. -Yes. -He was there when I left and arrived in the Vendée Globe. -We’ve always kept a very close bond since he was little. -It’s good. It’s the best oyster tasting of my entire life. There’s nothing better. -That’s what’s great here. Here, we eat oysters. We can fish for clams, razor clams. It’s a giant tank. -Shall we get a few oysters? For the two of us, that’ll be enough. -Here, there are 15 and 12 kilos. -7.5 kilos each, we’re good. It’s perfect. Bird calls. … -We wait for the time. 9:15. You can’t be too early or too late. You have to be punctual when scalloping . -With 34 years of fishing under his belt, Jean-Michel has learned to let himself be lulled by the rhythm of the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. His trawler is one of 238 boats authorized to haul scallops from the second largest scallop bed in France. -It’s well regulated and strict. We’re allowed a maximum catch of one ton today. -Ready right on time for maneuvers, in this race against time. -1! 2! 3! -Jean-Michel and his sailor have only 45 short minutes to launch the 300-kilogram dredges to a depth of 30m. After a few minutes of combing the seabed, the sound of the first scallops is heard. The sound of shells rattling together. Not enough to reassure the old sea dog, however. -There’s nothing. -Who already knows that today the bed won’t be as generous as usual. -It’s not great. Maybe it was yesterday’s gale. You can’t always land exactly where you need it. That’s how it is. -Threatened by overfishing until the 1970s, the scallop owes its survival to the awareness of fishermen. To preserve the resource, Breton sailors have set up monitoring missions for more responsible fishing. -The regulatory size is 10.5 cm. When it doesn’t fit inside, it’s good. But this one does, so it’s too small. And they go back into the water. That’s important if we want to continue fishing them for a long time. -In a few days, the young scallops will begin their reproduction period. Fishing them will then be prohibited until October. After 4 hours at sea, Jean-Michel takes advantage of the last returns of the season to the port of Saint-Quay Portrieux. -Everyone has their turn. First in, first out. -Attracted by this jewel of the sea, chef Mathieu Aumont comes to pick up his order on the quay. -It’s jammed. This ballet of boats, the guys waiting. There’s the pressure of unloading. -I got your message. It brought us bad luck. He sent us “good catch.” -Despite a frustrating catch, Barely more than halfway through today’s target, Jean-Michel has reserved his finest pieces for his friend. -59 kilos. -That’ll do for tonight’s service. It’s the same for us. There are good days, bad days. -Yes. Well there… -In his Michelin-starred restaurant, called “Poisson” in Breton, the chef has made the scallop his queen of the kitchen. Every week, Mathieu and his team open nearly 150 kilos. -It’s a beautiful nut. They have very little sand. It has a shiny side. That’s how we recognize it. -It’s the star. We call it the white gold of the bay. -After 7 months on the menu, to celebrate the end of the fishing season, Mathieu has planned a grand finale. An all-scallop menu where the nut is eaten both raw. -Beetroot and scallop mix. -Or just pan-fried, hidden in a ravioli or displayed like an immaculate jewel. -The idea is to have only 1, 2 or 3 ingredients so that we don’t get lost in the flavors. We’re there to enhance it, but it remains the star of the plate. -If the scallop goes from the sea to the plate in a few hours, near the port of Dahouët, Elise has chosen an even more direct shortcut to feed in nature. -If I could find sea lettuce, that would be good. We only have a small window. The moment when the tide is at its lowest. It uncovers some seaweed that we don’t have otherwise, so you have to be in the right place at the right time. What’s good is the tip, the youngest part of the seaweed. So this one, we call sea pepper. It has a taste reminiscent of truffles. It’s not yet easy for people to dare to take the plunge and taste these little-known plants. – Having returned to Brittany 4 years ago to get closer to a delicious nature, Elise imagines each walk on the Sentier des douaniers as an aromatic discovery of edible plants. – Just walking around to pick your meal has a bit of a treasure hunt feel to it. And we’re in the great outdoors, so it makes you hungry. This is wild fennel. It can be eaten raw. That’s still how it’s best. It’s delicious. This one is funny. The young shoots taste like peas. We’ll take just what we need and we won’t take everything from the same place so as not to damage the plants. Here, I just took enough to make a small tartare and some chips. -At the threshold of the marine world as well as the open sea, the Côtes-d’Armor offers a breath of fresh air with a delicious salty scent. -Ah! What a thrill to be here, friends! I love it! Ismaël laughs. So, in the end, this is where you learned to sail? -This is where I learned about life. They laugh. At 6 or 7 years old, I went out to sea all alone. -And what really impressed me about your journey was also rowing across the Atlantic and back. -The outward journey went a little too well, and I don’t like it when things go too well. So it was important for me to make this return. But it was hard. -Were you scared? -At one point, I almost died. My boat capsized. I was stuck inside upside down. I managed to right it, but there was no means of communication. I was out of everything. I lost 14 kilos. When I manage to make contact with a freighter, he tells me he’s coming to pick me up. I said, “No. No one’s coming to pick me up. Just send a message to say I’m okay, to continue. “Thanks. Have a good day.” -You’ve got a mind of steel. Ah! Are we getting to the traps? -Yes. Are you grabbing the buoy? -Go! -Go. OK. I’ve got it! -And there it is! What’s good about us? -We have two spiders. -Oh yeah? -One each! -We already have dinner for tonight! They laugh. -Whoohoo! That’s beautiful. -So here, we have a lobster that’s OK. And there, that’s a bit tight. It’s a bit small. -Because you have certain sizes to respect. -Yes. We’ll wait until next year. Take it. And you can put it in the water. -Go! So here’s your island. -Yes. It’s there. The family island. -The island of the close-knit family. -My grandparents bought this in 1945. -And for electricity? -We have a wind turbine, solar power, a generator, and we’re self-sufficient. -Great! -Yes. You’re on my land in a way. Well, no, but it’s a place where I feel so good. The view isn’t bad, and there you have the traps where we caught our lobster. It’s great. -It’s extraordinary. -The little stone walls mark the boundaries of each plot. And when my grandparents bought the island in 1945, there were 19 owners on the island. -Farmers? -Yes. The land is really good, and here, in winter, it doesn’t freeze. He laughs. Come on. Come on. -There! There you go! Crackling of the fire. -In the evening, we meet here, in this living room, and we tell stories, we sing. It’s perfect. -Yes. That’s what we’re going to do tonight. -I think we’re fine. Snap! -There you go! Fabulous! Thank you. I loved this day because I felt like I understood what had led you to the life you have today as a sea adventurer. -Since I was little, I dreamed of going “far away” and sailing around the world. And I sometimes go away for a long time, but I come back here too. -It’s beautiful to have a place to come back to. -My home port is here. I always have a postcard from home in my boats. And I look at this card and I say to myself: “I miss this.” -It’s 7 a.m. My alarm clock on the island of Yvinec. Birdsong. It’s the birdsong because it was so quiet all night that made me wake up. I’m in my pajamas with my boots. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I’m wearing a sweater because it’s not hot and I’m going to see the sunrise. It promises to be just crazy. -Hello, hello! How are you? -Hi. Oh yeah! OK. -The real Breton breakfast. -Yes. Breakfast. I hesitated to make my toast using the butter like that. -Was it the first time you slept on a small island like that? -Yes. We often go far to find exceptional things, but there, I felt like I was on another planet. -The sea has disappeared, so it might be good to go fishing on foot. -With pleasure. -We’ll see what the sea is like behind. And there are crabs that are possible to catch. -From the morning, you’re ready to go. -It’s that or I’ll make you garden. -Well, let’s go fishing. -Here. There’s a knife. In there. See? -Wow! Huge! No, but I’ve never seen that in my life. I love it! It’s so good. -It’s cool, huh? -We have to look for a kind of keyhole. -Yes. -And why do we put salt? -He thinks the tide is coming in and he comes to get it. -Ah! -Wait a bit. And then, very gently, you take it out, otherwise you’ll break it. -I’m going to try to catch him. -Go on. -We can see his eyes. -Go on. Quick. -I’ve got him. Well, there you are! -Your first knives. -So proud! -Cool anyway! -You, they leave you here abandoned, you know how to survive. -That’s for sure. -Me, I let myself die. There you go. With your foot, you catch… -A cockle. -You catch cockles. Incredible! Well, thank you very much. If one day, there’s the apocalypse, I’ll come and take refuge with you. -You’re welcome. -I’ll have a chance to survive. -It’s like dancing on the sand. It creates a rhythm. The tide creates a rhythm. -4 times a day, the sea rises and then recedes, revealing a new blank page with its slightly damp sand. At Pointe du Roselier, on her childhood beach, Hélène continues to go down there at the same time as the sea to seek inspiration. -It’s according to what I feel and I draw. I always start with a mandala theme, because I circle around it. -On her playground, the immense rake drawings have replaced the sandcastles. An open-air canvas, with the only limit being the passing of time and the sea already beginning to rise. -The sea is approaching. The drawing will soon begin to fade. It’s the magic of ephemeral things. We leave this trace and then nature takes care of it. It makes me feel good to do this. -On the Breton coast, life moves with the tides. While the ports empty, the foreshore, this area exposed at low tide, fills with small fishermen on foot and in boots. -Watch out. -Very close to the islet of Verdelet, renowned for its shellfish and crustaceans, Benoît admires these little creatures within easy reach for just a few hours. -I’m going to look at the seaweed. Because it’s a source of food and hiding places from predators. So, we’re going to look. Hello, you. It’s a green crab. How do crabs grow? Yes. -They change their bodies. -Yes. Their shells. -An ancestral practice, in the past, shore fishing was a means of subsistence for the locals. Today, the tourist tidal wave has transformed the activity into a treasure hunt. -It’s the pleasure of discovering something you wouldn’t see with the naked eye. -Are those eggs? -Yes. -Don’t touch them too much. -I used to do that with my parents and grandparents. It’s a skill passed down. -Coming mainly to discover the right moves, the group gently puts the day’s catch back in the water. Uncovered, the ecosystem is fragile. -So gently put them back in. -Go, friends. Go towards freedom, please. -While the tides fascinate young and old, the rising sea sometimes traps the unwary. Ready to intervene in 15 minutes, the sea rescuers of the Lancieux SNSM navigate the 5th bay in the world for the amplitude of its tides. Twice a week, they train in real conditions. Two victims are isolated on the island of Ebihens. And the rising tide encircles the area. -The sea has risen high. *Hello? -Hello. Where are you? -On the Ebihens. I’m with my daughter. -Is the beach big? -Yes, it’s a big beach with a cove and a small house at the end. -Exactly. On the left? *-Exactly. -OK. We’re coming. It’s not easy when people don’t know. We have to manage with visual landmarks. We hang on. OK, seen! I spotted the two people cut off by the tide. -Hello. We’re the Lancieux SNSM. Is everything okay? -Yes, I’m fine. We were scared. -We’re going to board the boat. We look for shells, heads down, we lose our bearings and we quickly get trapped. It happens very quickly. You have to have a watch. -For these volunteer rescuers, dedication is often shared within the family. Here, it’s Perig’s daughter who plays the young castaway. -I’ve always lived near the sea and sailing, so it’s been passed down like that, a little, from father to daughter. It’s always fun to go and pick up your daughter from the Ebihens. -Of the forty or so interventions in 2024, half were related to the tides. -Anyway, thank you very much. -Thank you. -Honestly, you’re great! -Tirelessly, every 6 hours, the sea starts moving again. A race against time in which some people participate in land yachts. -We’re going further out. We’re trying to get a little off-center so as to be less sheltered by the different reliefs. The further we go, the more open we’ll be. The idea: to manage to leave, make the first turn, and come back. You’ll be able to make the turn. Go ahead, turn, turn, turn… We depend on the elements. One immutable element: the tide. And the wind, which is more or less present depending on the day . Today, that’s not the case. There you go, your yacht is rolling, you’re looking far ahead, starting to anticipate your trajectory. -In the middle of this tug-of-war between land and sea, the Breton coast is the scene of one of nature’s most powerful forces . Tides so strong they transform the landscapes of Côtes-d’Armor. -It’s ideal weather for going abalone fishing. Or for going diving, for going to sea. Come on, let’s put on our wetsuits. -I’ve got a little bar of soap. You put some soap on, it slides off all by itself. -Okay, are we off? -Here, Ismaël, we’re in the Sept-Iles. It’s an area I love. There’s Bono Island, with Moines Island behind it… And the landscape… I never tire of it. There are fewer abalones than elsewhere, but they’re good quality. -When I started my trip, I saw these islands in the sun , and there, I almost feel like I’ve changed countries. It’s crazy. Guys, you fish for abalone and scallops while diving. Not everyone does that! -No, we also had a shellfish farm. We made a shell while dredging. -Boats that dredge the bottom. -Very nice job. Every morning, my father put on Johnny Hallyday… As soon as you started the batteries, Johnny would leave. There’s an adrenaline rush to dredging that you don’t get in diving. -Light the fire. Light the fire. -Look, Ismaël, seals. Do you see them? -Yes. -We don’t get too close, we leave them alone. There’s a really big one there. -So this is the first dive of the day. -Yeah. -And how long do you dive? -1 hour. -You do 3 one-hour dives in the morning. I’ll do one with you. Guys, good fishing. -Fuck! Never say that! -Sorry. I wish you a really rotten fishing trip. -We can go back, there won’t be anything to catch. Here we go. … -Hi, handsome guys. How are you doing? -While they’re diving, what do we do? -We check that they’re the right size. Here, we have a gauge that’s 9cm here for abalone and 10.5cm here for scallops. There are a few that are smaller. Maybe this one, but it must be 9… It’s 9. The boys, at the back, they have a gauge and generally, everything that’s brought up is already the right size. There are 9 boats in the Côtes-d’Armor with a quota of 4t per boat. -You have a limited number of rings. You can’t make any more. -We don’t have any more. We clip… We pass it through one of the holes, as close as possible to the exit. Then you just put the ring in and you can’t take it out. -I’m going to struggle. -Can you do it? -Yes, very good! Are you happy that your sons are doing this job? We feel the family passion for fishing. -It’s a bit in the genes. My grandson entered maritime school. For us, it’s a great source of pride. -A little abalone fisherman preparing… -I saw two octopuses. -For me, octopus is more of the Mediterranean. There are always more of them, In Brittany? -It’s coming up on our coasts. For us, it’s new. But it weakens our profession because they eat the abalone. You see 10-20 abalone shells… That’s how nature is today. -Listen, I can’t wait to go. … It’s crazy! The seal we saw 1m away… That passed 1m from us… It’s crazy! Do they often come? -Yeah. They come to see you. -I’ll be honest, this is my craziest dive. Even the hardest. No visibility. I don’t know how you see abalone. -We’re going to eat. -We’re going to taste the abalone. -Isma, here’s an abalone you caught. I’ll show you how to prepare it. I cut off the central stem… Like this. My advice is to leave it in the fridge for 48 hours and then, naturally, it’s much flatter. You put it in the cloth, you take your mallet… And you tap. Once tapped, it becomes like this. We’re going to start with a little snack, so olive oil, butter… Snack for 2-3 minutes on the first side, then add the garlic and parsley. -But it’s magnificent! -Is it good? -Oh my, Madone… The flesh is quite elastic and the taste very pronounced. Compared to meat, it’s like game. There’s a very strong taste. And the little butter-parsley mixture… Plus, when you’ve caught it, the shellfish, it gives immense satisfaction. Thank you very much, guys. Thank you very much. -Thank you. -Come on! Let’s go! -Like a challenge to time, with his army of kayaks, Patrice sets off to attack one of the main fortresses of Brittany. -La Roche-Jagu was one of the ten strongholds between Pontrieux and the Bréhat archipelago. It’s the last one standing. It dates back to 1405. -At 70m high, the Roche-Jagu castle overlooks the entire Trieux valley. -The castle’s raison d’être is the Trieux estuary. The goal was to monitor the estuary. The castle has never been attacked. You could think you were in the Middle Ages. -Protected by the waters from which the druids are said to have drawn their powers, La Roche-Jagu held firm throughout the medieval wars. Centuries later, in 1987, a violent storm would in turn try to shake the citadel. Once again, the solid granite walls wouldn’t budge. But around them, not a single tree stood. So we had to recreate an entire 64-hectare park. -Come on, get to work. Here, we’ll plant along this width. The day after this storm, we discovered ponds, retaining walls, and historical remains. From there, we worked on the dimension of the Middle Ages with the number 4, very present in the structuring of the gardens: the 4 cardinal points, the 4 rivers of the Garden of Eden… -At the head of a team of seven gardeners passionate about history, Jean-Baptiste watches over a garden of curiosities where alleys of camellias, palm groves, and medicinal plants mingle . -Next year, we will expand the range of plants to have something more flowery. It is an eternal renewal, the garden. -Going upstream, the only bridge over the Trieux gave its name to Pontrieux where the inhabitants continue to row their boats. -You can cross the entire town by boat. It is the Little Venice of Trégor. We still have people who go to see their neighbors with it. -Along the water, the largest avenue, Pontrieux collects an astonishing heritage: private wash houses from the 19th century, at a time when the town attracted wealthy merchants and notables who employed their own washerwomen. -Most of the wash houses are linked to a dwelling with a space above with a fireplace where the laundry is boiled. You will be able to wash your dirty laundry at home. -The washhouses were forbidden to men, so everything was said. We talked about each other’s hygiene. Gossip was told from room to room. -The washhouses also bring back family memories. Yvon lives in his parents’ old house. As a child, he helped his mother in the washhouse. -We helped make the fire, carry the wheelbarrows of laundry, hang out the washing… It was our playground in the 60s. -At that time, washing machines began to become popular. Pontrieux gradually abandoned its washhouses. Years later, enthusiasts took inventory of this heritage. -We’re going to come and take the building as a whole. Record the data. It’s updated directly. There are 48 existing or former ones. And I suspect there was a washhouse under the current terrace. -If some are still searching for a dormant past, in the Dinan region, on the banks of the Rance, the miller of the last tide mill is no longer asleep. -I left for 6 hours of work. There, I open the valve so that the water can rush into the chute. And there, the magic will begin. This is the original wheel. To renovate it, it was necessary to remove the mud. The mud reached the level of the vault. -In ruin, the Prat mill was rebuilt in 94 by volunteers as in the 15th century. Driven by the driving force of the water, the mill started turning again. -This is local buckwheat. The millstone must turn at 100 rpm to extract the maximum amount of flour. We pass it a second time. It is very pleasant to hear all this noise, the dust… The finest flour. -Mixed with water and salt, the traditional buckwheat pancake is cooked on a wood-fired stove that was common at markets. -You mustn’t press down. You have to swing it, like that. It’s part of our culture. -It’s clear, there’s no religious, sporting, or community event without a sausage pancake. -Tradition: cold pancake, hot sausage. Excellent. -More than just stones, these enthusiasts have revived a place of celebration and sharing, another Breton heritage. … -Hi, Damien! -Hi, Ismaël. -How are you? -Very well. Welcome to Dinan. Glad to have you. -This place is beautiful! -From here, there’s a superb view of the port of Dinan-Lanvallay, and the entire Rance Valley, which rises 40km from here and flows into the English Channel between Dinard and Saint-Malo. -So far, I’ve been on the coast a lot. I wanted to see what’s happening inland. This town is a little gem. -The town grew rich thanks to linen. There are bourgeois houses, plenty of space, the houses are large… You can tell there was trade. -When did people switch from half-timbered houses to stone? There’s a kind of transition in the architecture. -It was especially during the 18th century. In dense, medieval town centers, there were several fires at the time. People switched from wood to stone to avoid these fire risks. -What are these shutters? It’s like cannons on ships. -They had a dual function. In the Middle Ages, merchants put their merchandise outside the shop. They placed the objects here. That’s where the expression “trier sur le volet” comes from. -That’s good for shining in society. You take people to discover nature, everything around Dinan? -Yes. I was already working in hiking and cycling tourism. Especially in Northern Europe. -Stays. -But it no longer made sense to take people that far. I had a paradise right on my doorstep, I wanted to make people aware of the beauty of what we have here, without going far. -I confirm. -We’ll take these two electric bikes. -Come on! -Let’s go. Heading for the sea. -It’s truly bliss. We’re not too bad there. There are ruins over there! -It’s a castle called the Château du Guildo. -Wow! It’s superb. And why a castle here? -It was a defensive castle to protect the entrance to the Arguenon River. -Wow! It’s so beautiful! -The view is magical. -Great… The little town opposite? -Notre-Dame-du-Guildo and its little port where the boats are beached at low tide. -So the sea comes in right up to here. -We have a small wave coming in, it’s like… -The tide. -Exactly, that’s it. -When we arrived, it was absolutely calm, we could hear the birds, and then, we have the sound of the ocean, like a powerful river. -Did you see how in a few minutes, it filled up? -It’s extraordinary. We’re getting close to the sea. -Exactly. We’re getting close to the magnificent Cap Fréhel. Look. -Wow! -We’re starting to see it clearly. -Sublime! -Maybe we’ll come across Catell who raises cows on the moorland of Cap Fréhel. She’s the only one allowed. -OK. -Look, we can stop there. -Hello! -Ismaël, delighted. -Catell. -Françoise. -The mother? -Exactly. -We were missing some people. -Let’s go. -There… Wait, Gaïa. Come on… -We’re policing this way. -Me, on the other side. -Come on. Come on, come on! -He’s imposing, your bull. -His horns are at the level of your head. -Come on, this way, this way… Come on, grannies! No, no, no… -Are you okay? -I have no authority. -It’s the bad students who stay behind. He decided to go first, this one… -We’re going deeper into the moor. -Do we have everyone? -We’re here. You’re as much a tourist as I am with animals. -I don’t have an innate connection with animals. -I can confirm it. -Come on! Nawenn… Moan. Yeah, here you go, guys. Naïa! Clown! Come on, come on, come on, you’re here… Come on… Ukraine! Squadron! You’re the oldest, you could set an example. The old ones do what they want. -It’s well known. -Here, it’s like that. -Françoise, what do you think? -Um… Not all the time. -What breed is it? -The Froment du Léon. One of the four Breton breeds, specialized in butter. -They made Brittany legendary. -These cows are no longer suited to the current agricultural system. No longer profitable enough, so we abandoned them for more productive cows. -Are you happy to help them persist here? -It’s great to participate in maintaining it… It’s our culture. So it’s great. Thanks for coming with us. -Hi! -I’m going to take off Imbo’s halter. -The Cap Fréhel lighthouse is legendary. -It’s splendid. I really like having the modern and the old. The primitive lighthouse next to it is great. -You have two lighthouses! -You can see the architectural difference. It was more rounded under Vauban and Garangeau, the chief architect. -When was the first lighthouse built? -About 300 years ago. The new lighthouse is more cubic: a typical post-war construction where efficiency was the priority. The keepers classified lighthouses according to three terms: heaven, purgatory, and hell. Heaven was easily accessible lighthouses on land. Purgatory: lighthouses accessible at low tide. And hell, in the open sea. The keepers didn’t see anyone for 2-3 weeks, while the shift changed. -I learned a lot. -Thanks, it’s great. -Wow! It’s beautiful! Not a bad little spot. -We’ll be fine here. -Thanks. Perfect. Oh… And we’re all alone. Freedom! -Here, we feel alive. -Do you think you’ll ever leave here? -I don’t think so. I left, I came back, and I think I’ll stay here. I have everything I need here. -I understand. I thank you for these moments. What I felt today goes with my whole trip. There’s an intense feeling of freedom. You just enjoy it. A rooster crows. -The kids to renew the herd. Come on, it’s good! They’re looking for cuddles now. -In the heart of Côtes-d’Armor, the farming village of Trémargat wakes up gently to the sound of farm animals. Every morning… -Come on… Come here. -Nolwenn and Mathieu accompany their herd of 58 goats to milking. -I see the goats one by one. We wanted to have a farm on a human scale. It suits us well. Come on, friends! Hop! Come on, come on, hop, hop, hop! -After a first life in Savoie in the restaurant business… -They’re going to hurtle down the slope. -For 12 years, the couple has adapted to the rhythm of these walkers in search of a grove where they can graze. -Come on, come on! Hop! -Come on… -Tomorrow, they’ll be at the top of Trémargat. -Come on, hop! -It’s hard to believe, but 50 years ago, the lands of Trémargat were reputed to be poor and uncultivable. Despite everything, some farmers are trying organic farming. Among them, Mathieu’s parents are settling in with a few goats. -People called those who settled here in the 70s, when everyone was leaving the countryside, crazy. When my parents arrived, there were very few goats in Brittany. The other challenge: getting the Bretons to eat cheese. We’re following our dream on the same path. If we’ve picked up where they left off, it’s because they were right. -Following in the footsteps of these pioneers, over the years, a whole new generation of farmers has taken the opposite approach to the intensive agriculture long advocated. Under the 2,000m2 of greenhouses, Mathilde and Tim, the village’s latest arrivals, are growing organic vegetables. The order book is full: 23 salads, 12 bunches of turnips, 4.1kg of rhubarb, and still a few vegetables to prepare. We’re not often in the hammock. We had set it up at the beginning for breaks. I sat there once. The vegetables are growing well. Organic is in people’s beliefs and their consumption habits. -After searching for 2 years for a farm to start their adventure, the young market gardeners were helped by the farmers of Trémargat. Grouped into a SCI, they were the ones who bought the land to plant new seedlings. -We just arrived and we don’t have to buy land. It’s one less investment when you’re starting out. -It’s a joy to harvest turnips. It’s the first time we’ve had a good turnip harvest. It seems strange, but yes, we’re a little proud. -It’s a collective adventure , quite utopian but not unrealistic. It works. -In mid-spring, the fifteen farms in the village are running at full capacity. At the goat farm, Nolwenn has to turn her goats’ 180 liters of milk into cheese every day. The cottage cheese, the fromage blanc… We ladle them all , one by one. It’s a product I’m proud of. It makes sense. It was our choice to see our children grow up and work. -Twice a month, Nolwenn’s days get even longer. -Kisses. -The breeder goes herself to deliver her cheeses to the only supermarket in the village. -Here we are in the heart of the village of Trémargat. The community café is there and we arrive at the community grocery store. Hello! How are you? -Yes, and you? -Managed by locals who are more involved than just consumers… -I’m the one who puts the products on the shelves. -The grocery store, opened in 2012, sells mainly local products like vegetables from young market gardeners. -We don’t have the price of rhubarb. -That’s life in the village. We want to participate so that it continues. -I’m a cabinetmaker in the countryside so I don’t receive many people. To see people and bring the village to life, it’s the ideal, the dream. -We don’t just come here to shop, but to chat, to put the world to rights, and that’s good. -A laboratory for alternative and solidarity projects, Trémargat continues to write its legend, that of a village populated by die-hard Bretons who still resist conformity. … -I can’t wait to experience this with you. It’s a bit stressful, though. Is this the first time you’re going to be airlifted? -Yes. -How do you feel? OK… All that! -So yes, I know. I’m both stressed and impatient. We’re not doing it just for fun. Behind it, there’s a challenge for the diver who will airlift us and for whom we will serve as guinea pigs. You also need it to practice. And we, sea rescuers, the day we are faced with a victim who needs to be hoisted out, they may express fears about this maneuver, which is impressive, and having experienced it, we are able to reassure them. -The more you train in real conditions, the more prepared you are. -Yes, plus, we have a special feature at the SNSM: we are all volunteers. It’s not our job. -What do you do? -I am the administrative and financial manager of a design office. I am on a computer. So it’s important to do it often so that when we are called upon, there are automatic reflexes. -SNS 718 helicopter , I receive you 5. *-We are approaching the finish line in 5 minutes. -Yes! We can see it over there in the background. -Are you okay? Aren’t you too stressed? -No. My concern is not to be a burden to you. But I am well supported. I am impressed by your calm. -The weather conditions are optimal for a first contact with the rescue team. When we intervene, we don’t always have these conditions. -It makes my heart race a little. -Come on… How’s your equipment? -Very good. The equipment is super heavy, the water is cold… Swimming, moving around in there, it’s not easy. … Wow! So, frankly, for me, the little lesson of this morning is calm in chaos. I saw you all in the water, there was chop, the helicopter… It’s super impressive, and when the rescuer next to you is calm, you let yourself be guided. -Yes, it was impressive, I asked myself a lot of questions, and like almost every time with the SNSM, your brain is switched off and you do what you have to do. You get into the procedure, into what you have to do, and you do it. There, we discovered it together, tomorrow, if it happens, it’s more of a discovery. -Yes. Glad to finish with you. I wanted to discover the values ​​of seafarers. I only met seafarers who do different things: A woman who takes people to discover the islands on a sailboat, fishermen-divers who want to experience their environment, and you: the gift of self for others. That’s what makes these rocks so exceptional. There’s a spirit floating here that’s very special. The soul of this region is you, and it feels good to see that. -Mission accomplished. It’s a pleasure. france.tv access