“The fisherman knows about the condition of the river and knows when to stop,” said the 55-year-old. Low river levels also mean fishing is restricted, while rescue operations are being carried out for species stranded in some waterways, including around Belfort in eastern France.Įric Vincent, a fishing guide who takes clients in the Alsace region and the Vosges in the east, told AFP he had had to cancel clients last week. In red-zone drought areas with the most severe water restrictions, washing cars and watering gardens is prohibited, while golf courses are also unable to keep their fairways green. “They don’t know how their going to feed their animals this winter.” “Some colleagues are saying it’s worse than in 1976 (a record drought year),” Jean-Pierre Clipet from the FDSEA farmers’ union told AFP. On the Rhine river, commercial canal boats are having to run at a third of their carrying capacity in order to avoid hitting the bottom because the water level is so low.Įven in the far north in the Calais region, which is reliably cooler and wetter than most parts of France, farmers are worried about parched grasslands that are not providing for their animals. “We’ve got a problem with the water and of volumes.” “It hasn’t rained for eight months and as the Rhone is very low, salt water is flowing up to 20 kilometres (12 miles) inland,” mayor Christelle Aillet told AFP. The picturesque southern village of Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer near the mouth of the Rhone on the Mediterranean coast is also struggling to draw drinking water from its usual sources.