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IT COMES AFTER PEOPLE WERE WARNED AGAINST GOING INTO THE SEA ON FRANCE’S ATLANTIC COAST LAST WEEKEND BECAUSE OF STRONG CURRENTS Stay calm, save energy, and do not try to swim against the
current. These are the main things to remember if you get caught in a riptide, a French water safety federation has said. Riptides are currents that form between the beach and a sand bank,
but they can be very strong and pull people out to sea. Several people die as a result in France every year. As summer arrives and more people flock to beaches, _la Fédération française de
sauvetage et de secourisme_ has issued some advice on how to avoid the phenomenon and reduce the risk of drowning. Christian Poutriquet, federation vice-president, offered the tips IN AN
INTERVIEW. HOW TO AVOID GETTING CAUGHT IN A RIPTIDE Mr Poutriquet’s advice includes: * Only go up to your knees in the water. If you go up to your shoulders, you can easily be lifted up and
swept out to sea, especially if you’re not a strong swimmer. * Tell someone where you are going before you go into the water, and ask them to keep an eye on you * Stay within designated
swimming areas between beach flags, and where a lifeguard is present "Whether you're on the beach or in a boat, or even in the mountains, you always let those close to you know
what route you're going to take," said Mr Poutriquet. You can often see riptides in the sea before you enter the water. They sometimes appear like calm pools in the sea or have
different wave patterns from the rest of the water. The surface water may appear smoother than its surrounding waves, and the water may also come up further onto the beach than the usual,
calm lapping on the shore of other waves. WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN A RIPTIDE (OR SEE SOMEONE ELSE IN ONE) If you find yourself caught in a riptide and feel yourself getting pulled
away, stay calm. * Save your energy, and do not fight against the current * Swim diagonally, parallel to the coast to exit the riptide, rather than trying to go back towards the beach or
back the way you have come * Let yourself be carried by the current and swim out of it rather than against it * If you can, wave to someone on the beach to alert them that you are struggling
If you see someone else is caught in a riptide, call 112 (emergency number). The word for riptide in French is _une baïne_ (pronounced bah-een). If you see any surfers, boats, or kayakers,
you can call out or signal to them, but do not send anyone into the sea, which could cause an additional incident, said Mr Poutriquet. The video below, from the _Observatoire de la côte de
Nouvelle-Aquitaine_, shows how riptides form and offers advice on how to avoid them (in French). [embedded content] RIPTIDE RISK It comes after a British person - a man in his early twenties
- died recently due to a riptide in southwest France. READ MORE: BRITISH MAN DROWNS AFTER BEING CAUGHT IN RIPTIDE IN SOUTH-WEST FRANCE People were strongly advised to avoid swimming in the
sea on Sunday (July 2) and Monday (July 3) in the departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, Gironde, and Charente-Maritime, due to the risk of riptides. > ⚠️ 🌊 Risque maximal courants
de baïne sur le littoral. > Chaque année, des nageurs sont emportés et se noient. Ces courants > sont particulièrement forts et peuvent facilement vous entraîner > vers le large.
> 👉 Pour votre sécurité baignez-vous entre les drapeaux des > postes surveillés pic.twitter.com/XRI8VagKQM > — Préfet Nouvelle-Aquitaine et Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) July 2, >
2023