List of canals in France explained

This is a list of the navigable canals and rivers in France. For reference purposes, all waterways are listed, including many that have been abandoned for navigation, mostly in the period 1925-1955, but some in later years. Although several sources are used and listed in the references below, an important source of up-to-date information on French waterways is Inland Waterways of France, by David Edwards-May (published by Imray Ltd in 2010), and its online version, navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals (French waterways website section). Other sources using the same public information are the historic publishing house Berger-Levrault, Hugh McKnight, David Jefferson, Editions de l'Ecluse (Fluvial magazine) and the series of waterway guides published by Les Editions du Breil, all listed below the table. A comprehensive historic list with 513 entries for French canals is published online by Charles Berg.

List

The list includes two major rivers, the Rhine and the Rhône, that have their source in Switzerland, while others flow out of France into Germany, Luxemburg and Belgium (the Sarre, Moselle, Sambre, Escaut and Lys). Cross-border canals change their name at the border. The canals are listed in order of the Sort name column. Locations given in red are temporary limits of navigation, where continued restoration works are under way or planned.

The Map column should be used in conjunction with the map to the right which may be enlarged, to see the location of the waterway in relation to the overall network.

Below the table are References, grouped together to avoid fastidious repetition, while notes on status, navigability or connections are added under the third column heading 'Navigability'.

+Canals of France
Sort name	Waterway(canal or river) Ref.	Navigability, and alternative (French) name	From (waterway)	At (locality)	To (waterway or sea)	At (locality)	Length (km)	Number of locks	Map
Aa		Upstream 2 km and 1 lock disused		Saint-Omer			28.8	2	N
Adour							66		SW
Aff							7		W
Aire					Canal de Neuffossé				N
Aisne							57.1	7	N
Aisne lat							51.3	8	N
Aisne-Marne							58.1	24	N
Alsace		Lateral canal included for reference, part of river Rhine	Rhine		Rhine		53	4	E
Ardennes					Canal de la Meuse	Pont-à-Bar	88	43	N
Arles							31	1	SE
Aulne		Part of Canal de Nantes à Brest, includes 18 km of canal					110	46	W
Autize J				46.4043°N -0.7646°W			8.5	1	W
Autize V							10	1	W
Baise							63	21	SW
Beaucaire		Part of Canal du Rhône à Sète, no connection at Beaucaire					51		S
Bergues		No connection at Bergues, Canal de la Colme disused			North Sea		8.1	0	N
Berry		Restored section accessible from river Cher			Cher		12	6	C
Beuvry						Beuvry	0.6		N
Bidouze							17.8		SW
Blavet			Canal de Nantes à Brest		Atlantic Ocean		70	28	W
Bourbourg			Canal de Furnes and Port of Dunkerque			Le Guindal nr. Bourbourg	21	3	N
Bourgogne							242.1	189	C
Boutonne		No connection with Charente, gated sluice structure with no lock					30 Atlantic Ocean	4	W
Briare							54.2	32	C
Brienne							1.56	2	S
Brouage							2	1	W
Bruche		Disused, cycle path on former towpath					20	11	E
Caen		Canal Maritime de Caen					14	1	NW
Calais							30	3	N
Centre							112.1	61	C
Charente							167	21	W
Charente-S							39	5	W
Chatillon							4	3	C
Chelles		Lateral canal, part of river Marne					8.5		N
Cher							54.2	14	C
Clignon							1.2	0	N
Colmar						Neuf-Brisach	22.6	3	E
Colme		Disused, drainage only							N
Colme		Disused, drainage only							N
Deule			Canal d'Aire (Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut)		Lys		35.8	3	N
Dordogne							118		SW
Doubs		See also Canal du Rhône au Rhin					5.5		E
Durance		No. Sixteenth century irrigation					circa 50km		S
Dunkerque-E		Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut	North Sea		Escaut	Bouchain	189	14	N
Erdre							27.7	1	W
Escaut					Haut-Escaut (Belgium)	Mortagne-du-Nord	58.7	11	N
Etangs	Canal des Étangs	Original name of canal now incorporated in Canal du Rhône à Sète					49		S
Faux-Remparts	Canal des Faux-Remparts	River arm reserved for passenger boats			Ill	Strasbourg	2	1	NE
Furnes		Canal Nieuport-Dunkerque (name in Flanders)					13.3	1	N
Garonne							79.4		SW
Garonne		Historic name Canal latéral à la Garonne			Canal du Midi and Canal de Brienne		193.6	53	SW
Gironde							70.5		W
Givors		Long abandoned and mostly infilled					56	99	E
Henri		Historic name, branch of Canal de Briare						3	C
Herault							12	1	S
Huningue									E
Ill							9.9	1	NE
Ille			Rance estuary				84.8	47	NW
Isle					Dordogne		31.1		SW
Jonction		Part of the La Nouvelle branch of the Canal du Midi					5	7	S
Kembs							13	0	E
Lalinde		Disused since early 1960s, partially restored		Tuilières			15	9	SW
Landes							15		SW
Lens							8		N
Lez							5	1	S
Loing							49.5	19	N
Loire M	Loire maritime						52.5		W
Loire			Maine				84.9	0	W
Loire lat							196.1	37	C
Lorraines		Disused, no navigation					3	0	C
Lot aval	Lot aval	Navigation interrupted at Fumel dam, project pending				Albas	120	19	S
Lot central	Lot central			Luzech		Larnagol	74	17	S
Lot amont	Lot amont			La Roque-Bouillac		Flagnac	12	3	S
Lys		Leie (Flanders)					66.5	8	NE
Maine P							6		W
Maine			Mayenne		Loire		11	1	W
Manche		Navigation interrupted at dam, project pending					12		NW
Marans LR									W
Marans M									W
Marne lat							66.7	15	NE
Marne			Haute-Seine			Dizy	183.4	18	N
Marne-R	Canal de la Marne au Rhin[1] [2] [3]						313	154	NE
Champagne		Historic name Canal de la Marne à la Saône					224.2	114	E
Marseille		Historic name, no navigation through Rove tunnel							SE
Mayenne			Maine				122.5	45	W
Meaux							12	3	N
Meuse		Canal de l'Est North Branch					272.4	59	NE
Midi							240.2	64	S
Mignon							11	2	W
Montech		Montauban Branch[4]					10.9	9	S
Morin							12	0	N
Moselle		CAMIFEMO, now incorporated in high-capacity Moselle navigation					30	4	NE
Moselle							152	15	NE
Nancy				Laneuveville	Canal des Vosges	Richardmesnil	10.2	18	E
Nantes							184	104	W
Neufosse	Canal de Neuffossé	Mostly incorporated in Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut							N
Nieppe		Abandoned					23	4	N
Nivernais							174.1	110	C
Nord							95.1	19	N
Nouvelle							36	13	S
Oise A							47.8	13	N
Oise lat							33.9	4	N
Oise							104.4	7	N
Orleans							15	2	C
Oudon							18	3	W
Ourcq							108.1	10	N
Pommeroeul	Canal de Pommerœul à Condé		Escaut		Canal Nimy-Blaton-Péronnes (Belgium)	Pommerœul	6	2	N
Pont			Saône				3.5	1	E
Rance							22.6	2	NW
Rhône	Canal du Rhône au Rhin (North Branch)						36	13	NE
Rhône		Historically named 'South Branch'					237.2	112	NE
Rhône							140	1	E
Rhône							310	13	SE
Rhône							71	1	S
Rhône	Petit Rhône		Rhône	Fourques	Mediterranean Sea		59		S
Roanne							55.6	10	C
Robine		Part of La Nouvelle branch of Canal du Midi	Canal de Jonction	Moussoulens	Mediterranean Sea	Port-la-Nouvelle	31.6	6	S
Roubaix					Canal de l'Espierres (Belgium)	Leers	20	12	N
Saint-D							6.7	7	N
Saint-M							4.6	9	N
Saint-Q							92.6	35	N
Sambre			Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise		Sambre (Belgium)		54.2	9	N
Sambre O		Currently not navigable pending restoration works		La Fère			67.2	38	N
Saone			Canal des Vosges		Grande Saône		158.7	19	E
Saone	Grande Saône		Petite Saône	Saint-Symphorien	Rhône		213	5	E
Saone							9.7	5	E
Sarre C	Canal de la Sarre	Historically Canal des Houillères de la Sarre			Sarre canalisée		63.4	27	NE
Sarre R	Sarre canalisée		Canal de la Sarre	Sarreguemines	Saar (Germany)	Grosbliederstroff	12	2	NE
Sarthe							130.3	20	W
Savieres					Haut-Rhône	Chanaz	4.2	1	N
Scarpe Inf							36.2	6	N
Scarpe Sup							23.1	9	N
Seille							39	4	E
Seine NE		Canal Seine-Nord - PROJECTED 2024	Oise	Compiègne	Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut	Aubencheul-au-Bac	107	6	N
Seine M	Seine Maritime						105.7	0	NW
Seine H	Haute-Seine				Yonne		101	8	N
Seine B	Basse Seine		Haute-Seine		Seine Maritime		242.4	6	N
Seine P	Petite Seine		Canal de la Haute-Seine			Montereau-Fault-Yonne	67.6	11	N
Seine C	Canal de la Haute-Seine	Disused, restoration in progress		Marcilly-sur-Seine		Troyes	44	15	N
Sensee		Incorporated in Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut	Escaut				25		N
Seudre							18		W
Sevre Na	Sèvre Nantaise						21.5	1	W
Sevre Ni	Sèvre Niortaise						72	8	W
Somme							156.5	25	N
Tancarville		Canal du Havre à Tancarville					25	2	NW
Vilaine			Canal d'Ille-et-Rance		Atlantic Ocean	Tréhiguier	137	13	W
Vosges		Historically Canal de l'Est Southern Branch	Moselle		Petite-Saône		121.5	93	NE
Yonne			Seine	Montereau-fault-Yonne	Canal du Nivernais		108	26	N

See publications listing canals and waterways in France

• Edwards-May, David (2010). Inland Waterways of France. Imray Ltd.
• Voies Navigables France Itinéraires Fluviaux. Editions De L'Ecluse. 2009. .
• Jefferson, David (2009). Through the French Canals. Adlard Coles Nautical. p. 275. .
• McKnight, Hugh (2005). Cruising French Waterways, 4th Edition. Sheridan House. .
• Rolt, L. T. C. (1994). From Sea to Sea (2nd edition), Euromapping .
• "La gestion du Canal de la Bruche" [The management of the Canal Bruche] (in French). Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
• Loire Nivernais Waterways Guide 02. Editions du Breil, Castelnaudary, France, .
• Seine Waterways Guide 21. Editions du Breil, Castelnaudary, France, 2016. .

See also

• Rivers in France
• Canal de Craponne

Notes

• Sort Name The first key word of the title.

Notes and References

1. Book: Voies Navigables France Itinéraires Fluviaux. Editions De L'Ecluse. 2009. 978-2-916919-21-8.
2. Book: Jefferson, David. Through the French Canals. Adlard Coles Nautical. 2009. 978-1-4081-0381-4. 275.
3. Book: McKnight, Hugh. Cruising French Waterways, 4th Edition. Sheridan House. 2005. 9781574092103.
4. Book: Rolt, L. T. C.. From Sea to Sea. Ohio University Press. 1973. 9780713904710. L. T. C. Rolt.