La Franqui
La Franqui, just north of Leucate on France's Languedoc coast, is a firmly established freeride and freestyle spot and home to big events on a windy stretch known across Europe. It runs on two opposing winds: the strong, gusty northwesterly Tramontane that blows over 300 days a year and turns the beach into a freestyle playground, and the more stable southeasterly Marin in summer that brings cleaner conditions and surfable waves up to a couple of metres. The water is mixed, flat to choppy in cross-shore Tramontane and genuinely wavy on the Marin, with the best window roughly March to December. The wide sand beach offers lots of launch room, and the nearby La Palme lagoon gives a standing-depth area for learning. Beginners do well in lighter cross-shore breeze, while the punchy offshore-leaning Tramontane is better left to experienced riders. It is a popular spot that gets busy on classic windy days, drawing schools and riders alike.