Blame is being laid on weak and aged sea defences after violent storms left at least 50 dead and thousands homeless along France's Atlantic coast.
Many died after the sea wall off the coastal town of L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer was breached, allowing 8m-high (26ft) waves to crash through the streets.
A local governor said the walls dated back to the time of Napoleon and needed to be replaced with taller barriers.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged 3m euros (£2.6m) in emergency aid.
He was touring the worst-affected western coastal regions of Vendee and Charente-Maritime after declaring a national disaster, and promised to channel recovery funds quickly.
"It is a national disaster, a human drama with a terrible death toll," he said. "The urgent thing is to support the families who have members missing or dead."
The Atlantic storm, named Xynthia, smashed into the western coasts of France, Portugal and Spain on Sunday, with torrential rain driven by winds of up to 140km/h (87mph).
The storm has since swept north-eastwards into Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. and deaths have been reported in Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Germany.
Napoleonic walls
While many L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer residents were trying to be stoical about the situation, there is some anger in the town that not enough had been done to maintain its sea defences, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in the town.
Poor planning was also being blamed for constructing a mobile home park so close to the old sea wall.
more on this at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8544002.stm
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