Facing State Shortcomings: Citizens Learn to Expose Environmental Pollutions

Le Conquet (Finistère), report

In the studious atmosphere of the Foxes Room, located a few hundred meters from the eponymous point in the small coastal town of Le Conquet (2,814 inhabitants) in northern Finistère, about forty people settle into pre-arranged chairs on this September 25th—World Sea Day. A title appears on the projected screen: “Sea Sentinel Training Day”.

In collaboration with the town hall of Le Conquet, Vigipol, the mixed syndicate for the protection of the Breton coast—which Le Conquet is a member of—the Brittany branch of the France Nature Environment (FNE) association offers this training day open to anyone interested in better understanding environmental violations along the coast and at sea. Participants also learn about available tools and who to contact if an infringement is observed.

Illegal hunting and fishing, harmful sports and recreational activities, disturbance of protected species, destruction of their habitats, illegal dumping of waste, discharge of pollutants, and unauthorized construction are all examples of environmental violations that any citizen can observe and report. But how?

One of the tools is the FNE’s Nature Sentinels app. Launched in 2015 with about 29,000 whistleblowers—a number that is steadily growing according to the organizers—and 1,700 in Brittany alone, the federation recorded 6,030 reports through the app in 2024, involving issues on land (such as the removal of hedges or embankments), along the coast, or at sea.

“For instance, here, a fisherman reported a sewage discharge into the sea,” explains Sullyvan Henrio, a mission officer for civic and associative actions at FNE Brittany to the audience. “Here, oil tar balls were reported and found on the beach at Plouarzel.”

“As Sentinels, to take action, you can go to the app and click on ‘Report a degradation’,” adds Benoît Bronique, the regional coordinator of FNE, wearing a red t-shirt with his employer’s logo.

Next, upload a photo of the environmental damage, provide an exact location—using tools like Geoportal can be helpful—and describe the incident. “The idea is to support the citizen,” Benoît Bronique explains to the attentive audience.

FNE then analyzes the alert to see if any steps can be taken with the authorities: notifying the mayor of the municipality to exercise his policing powers, sending a letter to the departmental directorate for territories and the sea or to the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB). “We have template letters for such violations, which are very detailed and sourced, explaining for example to the mayor that he is obliged to intervene,” Benoît Bronique further explains.

During the weekday, many attendees are retirees, mostly members of associations affiliated with FNE such as Bretagne Vivante and Eaux et Rivières de Bretagne.

There are also a few citizens simply interested in the participatory spirit of the Nature Sentinels. For example, Anne, a retiree from Porspoder, 25 km away: “I like the idea that with the Nature Sentinels, one can follow up on cases and not just report them. It’s a form of civic education.”

Local associations with limited resources also attended. Among them, the Association for the Defense of the Environment, Living Environment, and Coastline of the Daoulas country, which includes Guylaine, a bank executive: “It’s interesting, we see what we can do at our level. These are ready-to-use tools that we can easily employ, which is a benefit for a small association like ours.”

The same sentiment is echoed by Sigrid, secretary at the Association of Friends of the Littoral santécois: “We discover new methods to alert and report within our mission to protect the coastline. There is a plethora of tools available.”

Among the various tools and contacts, whistleblowers can directly reach out to Vigipol. This partnership, initiated with FNE a year ago, highlighted this syndicate during the training day. “The idea with Vigipol is to create complementarity in addressing environmental violations: we aim to form a continuum from land to sea,” explains Sullyvan Henrio.

For marine pollution, strandings, or coast arrivals, citizens can directly approach Vigipol. For coastal—and also terrestrial—pollutions, it’s the role of Nature Sentinels. “With this partnership, we can refer reports to each other based on our areas of expertise,” explains Laurine Lebrun, a maritime lawyer at Vigipol.

This initiative is in line with Article 2 of the Environmental Charter, which states, “Everyone has the duty to participate in the preservation and enhancement of the environment,” says Benoît Bronique, microphone in hand.

This effort also comes in a context of declining biodiversity and “state deficiencies in environmental policing,” states Sullyvan Henrio. Accused of targeting farmers under the Duplomb law, the OFB and its 1,700 inspectors (out of 3,000 agents) saw its independence reduced in 2025, now under the direct supervision of the prefect and the public prosecutor.

“We also provide this training to prevent whistleblowers from automatically turning to the OFB, clarifies Sullyvan Henrio. “For many marine violations, the OFB is actually not competent.”

“If we come across phosphorus, which has burned walkers thinking they were picking up a nice pebble, what do we do?” asks a participant. “The network also exists to have an informed view. [When you find something], don’t touch it, assume it’s dangerous and call the gendarmerie or police. We’re also here to refer you to the right person,” explains Laurine Lebrun. The Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue can thus be contacted in case of marine pollution, for example.

Nature Sentinels are not just about alerting to environmental violations. The organizers also encourage participants to highlight positive initiatives. Thus, the training day concludes with a trip to the Blancs Sablons beach to pick up scattered waste, ending the day on a positive note.