In the country where the label was born in 1985, 485 beaches, marinas and one boat earned the Pavillon Bleu — nearly half of them along the southern coast.
France’s national operator, Teragir, awarded the Pavillon Bleu label to 485 sites for 2026 — 384 beaches, 100 marinas and one boat. The list was published in May and keeps France among the five countries with the highest number of labelled sites worldwide.
The award carries particular weight in France: the Pavillon Bleu concept was created here in 1985 before spreading across Europe and the rest of the world. The label is not limited to the coast — it also covers beaches and marinas along lakes and rivers inland.
Cifras clave: 485 Total sites · 384 Beaches · 100 Marinas · 1 Boat
Occitanie leads for a third year
The southern regions dominate the ranking. Occitanie again tops the list with 120 labelled sites (102 beaches and 18 marinas), a position it has held for three consecutive years. Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur follows with 112 sites (85 beaches and 27 marinas), and Nouvelle-Aquitaine completes the podium with 52. Together, the first two regions account for close to half of all labelled sites in the country.
The label born in France in 1985 now reaches beyond the sea, to lakes and riverbanks across the country.
Nine new sites joined the 2026 list, including the ports of Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune, Nevers and Charleville-Mézières, and beaches at Le Tréport and Carqueiranne. The single labelled boat is the catamaran Atalaya, run by Explore Océan and based at the port of Hendaye.
Sources: Teragir / Pavillon Bleu official 2026 results and Service-Public.gouv.fr, May 2026. Reported and summarised by Blue Flag News. Full data at pavillonbleu.org.
A Pavillon Bleu beach in Occitanie, France’s most-labelled region. Photo: Unsplash
