Incident Report: The drowning of UK citizens in France

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A collection of 28 aquatic incidents involving citizens from the UK whilst overseas in France. The ONS International Passenger Survey reported that 5,206,000 UK citizens visited France in 2019. The FCDO reported that only one UK citizen drowned in France that year. That makes aquatic activity in France one of the safest in Europe for UK citizens. 

2022

We identified four water incidents, all fatalities, involving UK citizens in France in 2022.

• A man, Nicholas Smith, 81, and a woman, Hilary Smith, 79, drowned in a swimming pool at a villa in Gignac, Languedoc Roussillon, on Monday, 20 June 2022. 
• A man, 61, drowned at a beach in Cannes on Friday, 17 June 2022. 
• A man, 70, drowned at Cocoon beach in Nice on Friday, 17 June 2022. 
• A man, 78, drowned at a beach in Menton on Friday, 17 June 2022. 

2021

The FCDO reported at least five drownings of UK citizens in 2021. We could not identify any incidents in France in 2021. 

2020

The FCDO reported at least one drowning of UK citizens in 2021. We could not identify this incident. 

2019

The FCDO reported seven drownings of UK citizens in 2019. We identified three water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2019.  

• A man, Faerez Bagna, 27, drowned at Carras beach in Nice on Sunday, 29 September 2019. 
• A man, 40, drowned at Cap-D'Ail, Monaco, on Friday, 13 September 2019. 
• A boy, Jake Taylor, drowned in a lagoon at the La Croix Du Vieux Pont campsite on Thursday, 22 August 2019. 

2018

The FCDO reported at least one drowning of a UK citizen in France in 2018. We could not identify any incidents in France in 2018. 

2017

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2017. 

2016

We identified one water incident, a fatality, involving a UK citizen in France in 2016. 

• A boy, Quinlan Pringle, 13, drowned at a beach in Boulogne-sur-Mer at around 18:00 on Monday, 15 August 2016. 

2015

We identified three water incidents, all fatalities, involving UK citizens in France in 2015. 

• A girl, Jessica Lawson, 12, drowned at a lake in Limoges in July 2015. 
• A man, 57, drowned at a lake in Marandan, Isere, on Wednesday, 12 August 2015. 
• A man, Rob Walton, 36, drowned at Mont-de-Marsan at around 13:45 on Monday, 11 August 2015. 

2014

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2014. 

2013

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2013. 

2012

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2012. 

2011

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2011. 

2010

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2010. 

2009

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2009. 

2008

We identified one water incident, a fatality, involving a UK citizen in France in 2008. 

• A boy, Colum Canning, 5, drowned whilst using the swimming pool at the Explorers Hotel on Thursday, 18 December 2008. 

2007

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2007. 

2006

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2006. 

2005

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2005. 

2004

We could not identify any water incidents involving UK citizens in France in 2004. 

2003

We identified two water incidents, both fatalities, involving UK citizens in France in 2003. 

• A boy, Edward McConaghey, 3, drowned in a villa swimming pool on Sunday, 3 August 2003. 
• A girl, Lily Shires, 2, drowned in a villa swimming pool on Thursday, 24 July 2003. 

Citation. Jacklin, D. 2022. Aquatic incidents involving UK citizens in France. Water Incident Research Hub, 16 December.