Near the church of Luc-sur-Mer, on the coast of Nacre, the flower boxes proudly resist.
The soil of the largest massifs still contains a little freshness and humidity.
This will no longer come from municipal employees.
Faced with the drought that is raging in Calvados, a prefectural decree of August 12 prohibits - among other things - the watering of green spaces and flowers.
“The ones that are hanging, with less soil, will wilt first.
The others will last a little longer, ”resolves the technical services assistant, Martial Heutte.
Read alsoFaced with the watering ban, Colmar asks residents to save its flowers
A "heartbreak" for Sabine, a very familiar Parisian from Luc-sur-Mer.
But the holidaymaker fully understands the decision: “All citizens are aware of the problems.
We felt it coming.
But we only have our eyes to cry, ”she says in reference to the effects of climate change.
In a municipality "very attached to flowering", according to the deputy mayor, letting the 5000 summer flowers cook hurts, especially in view of the ten months of work of the municipal gardeners, from the first sketches to the plantations, including the greenhouse cultivation.
Prefer trees to flowers?
The seaside town is not an isolated case.
In Molay-Littry, in Bessin, the measures may be a little less restrictive, due to a less tense situation, the municipality has decided to suspend the watering of flowers.
Further south, in Condé-en-Normandie, the town thought it had found a way to save the plants: give them to the inhabitants.
No sooner had this decision been taken than the prefectural decree of August 12 also prohibited watering, sealing the fate of the Condean plantations.
Read alsoDry fountains, morning watering ... Paris has taken the lead in the face of drought
In a street in Luc-sur-Mer, Armelle wears a flowered top.
This Caennaise, who owns an apartment in the village, points to other plants: “A tree is beautiful!
Maybe less flowers are needed for more trees.
We will have to try to find alternatives”.
This refrain comes back in the mouths of several inhabitants and summer visitors aware of the pangs of the drought.
Like Anaïs and Kevin, on a walk in the Parc de la Baleine, with its still very colorful flowerbeds: "If watering consumes too much water, you have to think about other species, make other choices .
Hoping not to have dry spells like this too often”.
A thought for farmers
It is also the hope of Martial Heutte, the deputy mayor of Luc-sur-Mer.
“This is the first time that watering is prohibited.
We will keep our logic of flowering.
Afterwards, of course, if it happens again, we will think differently”.
In the meantime, the withdrawal of flowers, a very visual consequence of the drought, will perhaps contribute to "changing some practices", hope holidaymakers from Chartres.
“Flowers are symbolic.
It is possible that people talk about it more than the consequences for farmers, for example”.
Luc-sur-Mer will soon go to its winter plantations and expects to receive the visit of the national jury of the Towns and villages in bloom.
This year, it is likely that the committee will be called upon to judge the good flowering of Luc… on photos.