Outside the system

Travel

The Smoke Behind the Sunbeds

Can anything stop Brits booking getaways to a burning continent buckling under ‘hyper-tourism’? By Kamin Mohammadi

Beachgoers at Moutchic in Lacanau, south-west France in July, seemingly oblivious to the wildfires raging in the near distance. GETTY, KAMIN MOHAMMADI

In July, an AFP photographer on holiday in southwest France took a snapshot that became the accidental emblem of Europe’s summer. Sunbathers lounged on Lacanau beach as wildfire smoke rose behind them.

It went viral within hours, encapsulating the disconnect at the heart of this summer.