Sel de Camargue now has its own PGI
More than ten years after their application, the sauniers occitans have obtained the PGI for their Sel de Camargue. This is a major victory for the protection of this product and the biodiversity of its landscapes.
It's now official. After long years of waiting, the European Commission has just approved the registration of Sel de Camargue and Fleur de sel de Camargue as a new Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in France. A real victory for salt workers, but also for the protection of their product and the local environment.
A boost for tourism
It had been over ten years since the Occitan salt workers first applied for this coveted PGI. They had to be patient to obtain this official title, which was registered in the Official Journal of the European Union on February 2, 2024.
This distinction should have many consequences. In the coming weeks, it will ensure better protection of Mediterranean salt production, particularly in the Aigues-Morte area of the Gard department.
The Camargue salt marshes, already one of the region's tourist attractions, should attract even more tourists every summer, who come to discover the salt flats on foot, by bike or by small train.
Protecting biodiversity
While Camargue salt is appreciated by gourmets for its taste, tenderness and melt-in-the-mouth texture, its production also has major benefits for local biodiversity.
Infact, salt farming enables the development of a wetland environment that is home to a wide range of biological diversity, including more than 200 endangered species of migratory and endemic birds, as well as 300 species of plants.
The saltworks have been listed as a landscape in the general inventory of cultural heritage since 1955, and the Aigues-Mortes site has been a signatory to the Petite Camargue Natura 2000 charter since 2005.
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