At the "Jeunes Reporters pour l'Environnement" awards ceremony (2025-2026 edition), Marion Lescuyer, a first-year Masters student in journalism at the École de Journalisme et de Communication d'Aix-Marseille, won third prize in the 19-25 Journalists category.
Her report raises a question that few of us have ever considered: what happens to the thousands of pleasure boats that stop sailing every year? Long abandoned in ports, stranded on shore or sunk offshore, these end-of-life vessels represent a growing and largely underestimated environmental challenge.
Through the discovery of the French dismantling industry supported by the "Association pour la Plaisance Éco-Responsable" (APER), the report follows step-by-step the stages involved in taking care of these boats: from removal from the water to the recycling of complex materials such as composites, the processing of which poses considerable technical challenges.
But beyond the nautical sector, a more fundamental question runs through this work: the responsibility of manufacturers for the waste generated throughout the life cycle of their products. At a time when the French industry is one of the most advanced in the world, this report invites us to rethink the role of the circular economy in the design of tomorrow's objects.
Bravo Marion for this thorough, rigorous and committed work!
