Festival Livre et mer

The 41st edition of the Livre et Mer festival will take place on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026 at the Porzou sports complex in Concarneau.

The Livre & Mer Festival is an event dedicated to maritime literature which, every year since 1985, has brought together authors of works devoted to the world of the sea and the oceans. Novelists, scientists, historians, artists, authors of children’s books and comic books, sailors and seafarers – they all share a love of the sea and celebrate it through their writing. They are welcomed into a large maritime bookshop where festival visitors can meet them.

Lectures and round-table discussions, Entreprise Piriou, Port Area
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER
10.15 am: Round-table discussion with VINCENT GUEQUIERE
‘Piette Landais, the forgotten captain of the American War of Independence’
Vincent GUEQUIERE’s *Le Capitaine Egaré* tells the story of a little-known captain from Saint-Malo, Pierre Landais.
Dissatisfied with his career and commissioned by Benjamin Franklin, he left the French navy to take part in the American War of Independence.
The narrative immerses us, in an engaging style, in the adventures and tribulations of a man caught between two navies in his quest for recognition.

11.15 am: Round-table discussion with MARINA LEVY and OLIVIER POIVRE D’ARVOR
‘When the Ocean Awakens’
*When the Ocean Awakens* is a book born out of the collaboration between a scientist, Marina Lévy (oceanographer and research director at the CNRS), and a diplomat, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor (Ambassador for the Ocean and the Poles).
Together, drawing on research conducted across the globe, they warn us of the fragility of marine ecosystems and the threats posed to them by human activities.
The authors take us on a journey that is both scientific and human, raising awareness of the current challenges and threats facing the ocean and, consequently, the planet itself.

2.00 pm: Lecture by FRANÇOIS GUICHARD
‘400 Years of the French Navy ’
Delve into four centuries of maritime adventures, strategy and naval heritage.
Through historical accounts, anecdotes and expert insights, discover the Navy’s finest moments and the challenges it faces.

3.30 pm: Lecture by DOMINIQUE LE BRUN
‘Chesapeake’
A pivotal event in the American struggle for independence, the speaker looks back at this naval episode, also
known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes.
Through the account of the victorious intervention by Louis XVI’s Navy, he highlights the historic alliance between America and France.

5.00 pm: Lecture by NADIA AMEZIANE
‘From the royal cabinet to grand expeditions: 400 years of history at the Natural History Museum, between collections and scientific expertise’
From the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants to the Natural History Museum, the institution has evolved over
four centuries of scientific history and exploration of the living world.
As the heir to these centuries of research and exploration, the museum now houses one of the
world’s most significant natural history collections.

SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
10.30 am: Lecture by PAUL TREGUER
‘Jules Verne, Planet Ocean’
With the critical eye of an oceanographer, the speaker revisits Jules Verne’s marine world and his
visions of the future. What extraordinary adventures might a 21st-century Jules Verne offer us?
Would we set off with him, using drones, to explore deep-sea resources, or, aboard spaceships, would we go in search of other forms of life in the seas of liquid methane on Titan?

2.30 pm: Lecture by FRANÇOIS BELLEC
‘Brest, a centre of excellence at the height of the Royal Navy’s power ’ In the wake of Louis XV’s disastrous naval policy,
a revitalised navy, established by Louis XVI and supported by great ministers, was able to outclass the Royal Navy and contribute to the independence of the United States of America.
Brest was then a centre of maritime excellence – scientific, technical, diplomatic and operational – during the final decades of the Ancien Régime.

Full programme available at https://www.livremer.org/