Development and Restoration Trajectory of a Low‐Energy River: The Case of the Vistre, a Coastal River in the South of France

ABSTRACT The lack of attention paid to low‐energy watercourses, particularly at the academic level, complicates the design, implementation, and evaluation of their ecological restoration. This article examines the case of the Vistre, a river in southern France, and its rehabilitation, based mainly on remeandering. Such interventions provide an opportunity to question the results‐oriented obligations of the European Water Framework Directive to achieve “good ecological status” of watercourses, while leaving the methods to be used to the judgement of the managers. Based on historical archival research and interviews with stakeholders involved in the management of the Vistre, we trace its anthropization trajectory and identify three different management regimes since the early 20th century. The succession of these regimes allows us to show how this trajectory, leading to the Vistre rehabilitation, is shaped by ambivalent relationships with nature and technology, rather than by an awareness of linear ecological degradation. We conclude by discussing the value of action in cases of incomplete restoration and the importance of monitoring and dialogue between the spheres of fundamental design of ecological restoration and its implementation.