Marseille has extended its safety scheme across the city’s supervised beaches, allowing victims and witnesses of sexual harassment or assault to send immediate geolocated alerts to teams working on the sand.
According to the City of Marseille, the free and anonymous “Safer Plages” app will operate at Corbière, Catalans, Prado Nord and Prado Sud, Borély, Bonneveine, Vieille Chapelle, Pointe Rouge and Frioul until Aug. 30.
According to the municipality website, users can activate an emergency button that transmits their location to nearby mediators, who can intervene, protect the victim and contact police or emergency services where necessary.
The scheme combines the app with a visible presence on the beaches, where “mediators” also speak to visitors about sexual harassment, violence, and consent.
Le Parisien reported that the initiative is intended to address concerns over women’s safety on French beaches, citing a 2023 IFOP survey that found one in two women said they had experienced harassment or assault at the beach.
Reported behavior included indecent exposure, unwanted photography and sexual touching in the water.
The Safer Plage program was first piloted back in August 2022 before being expanded to other parts of Marseille’s coastline.
Mediators handled around 200 incidents involving sexual or gender-based violence during the 2025 season, while more than 200,000 people have been approached through the program’s awareness work since its launch.
The app has been downloaded around 4,000 times.
The city also uses a 22-question self-assessment checklist known as the “Beach Respect Meter” to identify abusive behavior. It asks beachgoers about conduct they have experienced or witnessed and is intended to indicate whether a situation may be inappropriate or potentially dangerous.
The safety teams are present every day throughout July and August, while local feminist organizations and groups working against sexual violence will also run occasional information stands.
