Paulilles Bay

Identified as early as 1870 by the Swedish engineer Alfred Nobel, the Paulilles site was the first dynamite factory in France and primarily produced explosives for major civil engineering projects (Batère Mines, Panama Canal).

The manufacture of conventional explosives gradually gave way to metal plating, which was carried out locally until 1984, the year the dynamite factory closed permanently.
The 32-hectare site, located in the municipality of Port-Vendres, was acquired by the Conservatoire du Littoral (Coastal Conservancy) in 1998 and is managed by the General Council.

The protected status it enjoys has allowed it to preserve a unique landscape.