I’m on Ile de Ré, the tiny, fashionable French island with a big personality. An oasis of marshes, villages, vineyards and sand dunes, just off the coast of La Rochelle, it’s connected to the mainland by a 1.8-mile bridge.
And with just 20,000 permanent residents, life on this Atlantic outpost is incredibly laid-back. Even when the rich trendsetters from the capital swoop in for the summer – it’s nicknamed the 21st arrondissement of Paris – the island still manages to retain its rustic charm with its beautifully preserved landscapes of cypress trees and pines along with its elegantly weathered buildings. The coolest crowd on the island, however, are the Poitou donkeys who can be seen strutting their stuff in natty striped pyjamas.
Apparently this was first introduced by the wife of a farmer who made them to protect the legs of their donkeys from mosquito bites. Now these donkeys in their PJs are a star attraction and are much loved by tourists. And with its fluffy golden sand, fresh seafood restaurants and full-on French seaside chic, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong on Ile de Ré.
So it came as something of a surprise to learn that, 15 years ago, a man tried to swim across the tidal channel to La Rochelle after breaking free from the island’s notorious prison for hardened criminals. He was one of the 500 inmates, serving sentences of more than 20years, and he escaped by clinging to the bottom of a fish van. My tour guide tells me that after escaping u.