France Sea water salines Beauvoir sur Mer

To the north and south of the Loire estuary there are coastal areas with lots of sea water salines, in which among others 'Fleur de Sel' is produced.
West of Beauvoir sur Mer, the road to the Île de Noirmoutier runs right through such salines.
In the late spring, there is no salt in the salt pans because the sun does not yet shine enough. At that time the "Paludiers" are busy lining the evaporation basins with clay.
The clay gets warm slower than the water during the extraction of salt, but keeps the warmth longer. Thus on the ground a gray salt is produced which accumulates the calcium of the clay. In higher water levels the snow-white Fleur de Sel crystallizes, floats in the water and is ‚harvested‘ with a kind of rake.