The Camargue: Where River Meets Sea

The Rhône's delta, the Camargue, is Western Europe's largest river delta—a vast wetland where freshwater meets salt, where wild white horses run free, and where pink flamingos share space with fighting bulls. This unique landscape has created equally unique communities.

The Camargue gardians (cowboys) maintain traditions dating back centuries, but today's gardians come from diverse backgrounds. Vietnamese families who arrived as refugees have become successful rice farmers in the delta, applying Mekong Delta techniques to Camargue conditions. Roma communities continue their seasonal patterns of work and movement, maintaining customs that predate modern borders.

"The Camargue doesn't care where you're from," explains Marie Santini, a gardian whose family has worked these wetlands for eight generations. "If you can read the water, understand the animals, respect the land, you belong here. Some of our best gardians now are kids from Marseille housing projects who discovered themselves in this wilderness."