Bertrand Latouche

1971. In the salt marshes of Guérande, farmers and neo-ruralists unite to oppose a bypass project. It is the beginning of a long struggle in which the underdogs will ultimately prevail. They will go on to collectively invent an alternative model to preserve this magical place, which is also their workplace.

Through encounters with a hydrologist, a farmer, and citizens mobilized around the Marais Poitevin, the director helps us understand the effects—on biodiversity and the state of rivers—of substitution reservoirs, also known as megabassins. For several years, Anne-Morwenn, David, Patrick, Yann, and others have been fighting for fair water sharing and devising ways to convince as many people as possible that it is time to change the agricultural model.