The unwitting winners of France's drought: salt farmers

French salt maker Francois Durand harvests sea salt from a salt pan in Le Pouliguen, west France, August 5, 2022. The country’s record heatwave has seen salt yields nearly double this season as sunlight and light winds have driven the evaporation of seawater that’s let into the pans at high tides. REUTERS/Yann Tessier

LE POULIGUEN, France (Reuters) - Through blistering heatwaves and drought that have parched the French countryside in recent weeks, one group has emerged a reluctant winner: salt farmers in the northwestern region of Guerande.

Guerande's snow-white Fleur de Sel (‘flower of salt’), which crystallizes on the water's surface, is one of the finer salts on world markets, retailing in the United States at over $100 a kilogram.