France's President Emmanuel Macron and Prefect of the Manche department, Frederic Perissat speak with paramedics during at the end of the first day of the President's two-day visit in Le Mont-Saint-Michel, north-western France, on June 5, 2023. Emmanuel Macron is on a two-day visit in Normandy as part of preparations to celebrate the millennium of Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey today, then launch preparations tomorrow, in Calvados, for the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on June 6, 1944, which will take place in 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
A new dam and infrastructure works have saved the famous Mont-Saint-Michel abbey's status as an island by reversing the silting up of its bay, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech on Monday.
An old dam across the Couesnon River in front of the mount protected agriculture and nearby town Pontorson from floods, but had also stopped the river's vigorous outflow during low tide that had flushed sediment out into the bay and for centuries helped Mont-Saint-Michel remain an island during high tide.
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