French outraged

Radiance of lighthouse to be reduced

The strongest lighthouse in Europe is to lose its historic beacon and lose its radiance.(Bild: APA/AFP/Fred TANNEAU)

There is great excitement in French Brittany about a lighthouse that is the pride of the region. The most important of the 52 lighthouses on the coast of Brittany, the Créac'h lighthouse, is to lose its light for health and environmental reasons.

The prefecture of Finistère announced a few days ago that the lighthouse would have to be converted to an alternative, modern lighting technology because mercury, which is hazardous to health, is still used in the lighthouse's lighting optics. 

Specifically, the maritime administration is planning to downgrade the lighthouse, which was built in 1863 and currently has a range of 59 kilometers, according to the initiators of the petition "Save the Créac'h lighthouse", which more than 10,000 people have already signed in just a few days.

"Shipping in danger"
Instead of the large historic beacon, a smaller beacon with a range of only 35 kilometers would be installed, with a range of only 3.7 kilometers in poor visibility. Shipping on the island of Ouessant, where the tower is located, would be put at risk, the report continues. 54,000 ships pass the island every year. 

As used to be the case with lighthouses, the rotating optics of the Créac'h lighthouse float on a tank of mercury.(Bild: APA/AFP/Fred TANNEAU)

Friends of the lighthouse are also concerned about its unique technology: "The costly installation of an industrial light would mean mutilating the existing light, a historic object that was exhibited at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and whose efficiency is still unsurpassed." As was common with lighthouses in the past, the rotating optics of the Créac'h lighthouse float on a tank of mercury. 

Authorities want to talk to the population
"The most powerful lighthouse in Europe, the most prestigious and important, considering the function of its overpowering beacon for decades, threatens to be turned into a tourist attraction, insulting all the sailors in the world, the inhabitants of Ouessant and the coast," said former lighthouse keeper Louis Cozan, as reported by the newspaper "Le Parisien". In response to the protests, the department's administration has promised to seek talks with the population.