Les Salins du Midi

Seeing life through pink glasses? Visit Les Salins du Midi in Aigues-Mortes to make it a reality. There they produce yearly about 500.000 tons of salt.

Production happens by the evaporation of sea water in large basins. During this process some micro-organisms come to life (in the form of algae) which gives the water a pink colour. When the water level in the basins is low enough (and the amount of salt in the water hits up to 97%), the salt is ready for harvesting.

There are two types of harvest: the bulk of the salt is being scooped out of the basins with the equivalent of a spade and a wheelbarrow (in the form of a small boat), and there are batches of salt floating on the water being harvested by hand. The latter is the finest grade salt and is being sold as “Fleur du sel”. All these processes are still being done by hand and are not industrialised. The end products are a wide variety of salts, even for human consumption.

The castle in the distance is the city of Aigues Mortes.