Rumor: Pro Surfing To Return To France This Fall 

The last time we saw a CT heat in Hossegor was at the Quiksilver Pro France in 2019. 

It was a sunny Friday, the beach was packed, the waves were cooking. Jeremy Flores won, and the mayor decided to shut down the main street in town so that the residents and visitors could set themselves ablaze for the evening. 

Very good times. 

The new WSL schedule — with the World Title being decided in September — made an October CT event in France impossible. The contest briefly returned with CS status in 2021, but didn’t seem to have the same pop. No event was held in 2022, and nothing has been announced for 2023. 

Word on the street: That’s about to change. 

We’ve heard that permits have been granted for a big ol’ surf festival. It sounds like it’s shaping up to be more of a specialty event on the contest side, but whispers have suggested the attendance of some very large names — as well as U.S. Open style set up with music, skating, and parties on the beach. 

It’s worth noting that the use of the term “rebel tour” has seen a year-on-year increase of 369% in 2023. We’re not saying this = that, but we’ve got a hunch that the future will bring us more alt-style events. There are many ways in which you can showcase good surfing while getting fans together for a good time, and we expect more of those to be explored. 

Dates and details are yet to be made public, but signs point to mid/late September. Anyway, it sounds like great news for the European surf community. You can’t rule out the potential for the CT to return to France in the future but, for now, this is something to look forward to. It felt rude not to have a proper event to close out summer with a bang.

We’ll keep you posted.