Building a French Florida: the Mission Racine and the ‘touristification’ of the Languedoc-Roussillon

In the 1960s, the French state began an ambitious tourism project, known as the Mission Racine, to transform the Languedoc-Roussillon coastline into a major tourist destination. The state envisioned modern resorts supported by new infrastructure, reshaping 180 km of the Mediterranean coast. This development responded to both national and regional economic challenges, particularly the region's declining wine industry, and sought to compete with Spain's thriving Costa Brava. Architects like Georges Candilis and Jean Balladur were tasked with designing modernist resorts that would harmonise with the natural landscape. While state planners envisioned a ‘civilisation of leisure’, critics argued that the project displaced local communities and eroded regional identities, likening it to internal colonialism. This article examines how different perspectives on the Mission Racine – political, architectural, and social – were inflected by relationships with the landscape, highlighting tensions between state-driven modernity and regional resistance. Ultimately, the project illustrates broader challenges in balancing economic development with cultural preservation, revealing the complex dynamics of tourism, landscape, and identity in postwar France.