From Rabbit-Infested Dunes to a Pine Forest: How Alphonse Daloz Shaped Le Touquet-Paris-Plage

Before becoming a renowned seaside resort, Le Touquet was merely a stretch of sand south of the Canche estuary. In 1855, Parisian notary Alphonse Daloz had a pine forest planted there to fix the dunes. A look back at a reforestation effort that preceded the birth of the resort by almost thirty years.

In 1837, the notary Alphonse Daloz buys at auction 1,600 hectares of dunes in the commune of Cucq

In the spring of 1837, the State Auctioned off a vast sandy domain situated between the English Channel and the Bay of Canche, in the Pas-de-Calais. Alphonse Daloz, a notary from Paris, won it in partnership with a partner named Alyon. The land then belonged to the commune of Cucq.

However, these 1,600 hectares offered only poor soil, exposed to the wind. Daloz first attempted livestock farming, then agriculture, all without results. Moreover, wild rabbits proliferated and devoured any young shoot.

From 1855, the Landes method of oyats and maritime pines gradually stabilizes the moving sand

As early as 1855, Daloz shifted strategy and drew on techniques proven on the Gascon littoral. First, oyats are planted to trap the sand with their roots. Then come the sowings of maritime pine, a hardy species that tolerates drought and grows quickly.

The undertaking demanded perseverance, because rodents regularly ravaged the young plants. Consequently, some plots had to be reseeded several times. According to local historical studies, the State would have supplied more than 40 tonnes of seeds over the years.

In total, around 800 hectares were wooded between 1855 and 1882. In addition, alnus and poplars came to diversify the stands, while the young forest gradually transformed into a game-rich terrain.

In April 1882, Daloz subdivides part of his forest under the name Paris-Plage, suggested by Hippolyte de Villemessant

Hunting drew Daloz’s Parisian connections, including the newspaper magnate Hippolyte de Villemessant. Captivated by the landscape, he is said to have compared the site to Arcachon and proposed the name Paris-Plage. From that moment, the idea of a resort targeting the capital’s clientele began to take shape.

In April 1882, Daloz created the first subdivision on the western portion of the domain. The first villas and an hotel appeared in the same year. Yet, the founder did not live to enjoy his creation much, as he died in Nice in 1885.

Established as a commune by the law of March 28, 1912, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage remains anchored to the forest planted by Daloz

After the death of the notary, his heirs ceded the domain. At the beginning of the 20th century, the British businessman John Whitley and his partners developed hotels and sporting facilities. As a result, the resort attracted an affluent clientele, partly arriving from across the Channel.

March 28, 1912, a law detached Paris-Plage from Cucq and established it as a commune. The name Le Touquet-Paris-Plage now linked the original place-name with the brand created thirty years earlier. Thus, the resort gained its administrative autonomy.

Even today, the century-old pines frame villas and avenues, including Daloz Boulevard. Ultimately, the seaside town owes its existence to a foresting wager, for without dune stabilization no housing estate could have stood on this shifting sand.