Exploring the Loire to understand and defend it better

From May to July 2022, from the river’s sources to the estuary, a group of scientists, artists and authors travelled down the whole of its course to survey its state of health. Aboard their “canoe-laboratories”, they particularly took with them two scientific protocols of a new kind: the first, to collect microplastic litter left solely by humans in the water and sediments of the Loire; and the second, to detect DNA traces left by all living organisms and thus reveal their presence. A long-haul investigation, into the Loire’s hidden side, which is delivering its first findings here and raises a crucial question: how can we reconcile our lifestyles with the life of the river?