France Moves to Save an Icon From Sediment and Sea Grass

LE MONT-SAINT-MICHEL, France -- For 13 centuries, this imposing outcrop of granite just off the coast of France, with its unforgettable, eerie silhouette, has withstood the ravages of man and nature. Its abbey has welcomed pilgrims, its ramparts and towers have helped repel invaders, and its shores have stood up to some of Europe's mightiest tides.

But today, Mont-Saint-Michel, long a symbol of French power and identity and the country's most popular tourist destination outside Paris, is succumbing to a relentless invasion of silt and sea grass, which are surrounding the island and threatening to make it part of the mainland.

"If we don't do anything at all, in 40 years Mont-Saint-Michel will be part of the continent," said François-Xavier de Beaulaincourt, who is leading a project to stop the shoreline's advance. By his account, it was about 2 1/2 miles from the island in the mid-1800s, but today, depending on tide levels, it can be as little as 50 feet away.

Historically, the island has been ringed by sand flats at low tide and water at high tide. The dramatic setting and buildings make up "an unequaled ensemble" that is "one of the most important sites of medieval Christian civilization," according to the United Nations, which declared the island and its bay a World Heritage Site in 1979.

"Without the sea, it is not Saint-Michel," noted Joel Barbadette, 46, who runs several museums on the island.

Determined to avert the loss of a cultural icon, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin last week announced a six-year, $207 million project to push back the encroaching silt, calling Mont-Saint-Michel "a small piece of eternity you can touch with your finger."

The key component is a dam and tidal reservoir complex that would store seawater at high tide then release it in a powerful stream at low tide to flush sediment away from the island and keep it from becoming landlocked.

A 37-acre parking lot at the foot of the pyramidal island would be moved inland, restoring the area to its natural state. And a 127-year-old, 1.2-mile causeway from the shore to the main gate is to be moved and partially rebuilt as a bridge to allow the free flow of water around "the rock," as many local residents call it.

"It's important to restore the magic of the site by getting rid of the cars and mobile homes and allowing le, Mont to be a real island -- it is our duty to the coming generations," said Mont-Saint-Michel Mayor Patrick Gaulois, one of 26 people, including 11 monks and nuns, who live on the island.

"Being an island is part of its strong identity -- a gem in the sea," he said. "The project may fail, but if we don't do anything against the silt, it will inexorably get worse."

Mont-Saint-Michel takes its name from St. Michael the Archangel, who is said to have appeared in a bishop's dream in 708 and ordered a chapel to be built here. Over the centuries, it became a center of pilgrimage, religious scholarship, French resistance and, eventually, tourism.

The island measures about 2,950 feet around its base and rises to a height of 262 feet. At the top stands a massive Romanesque and Gothic abbey complex, whose steeple brings the total height of the island to more than 500 feet. It can be seen for miles in every direction.