page_title: Du battant des lames au sommet des montagnes
section_title: Problems on the shore
hierarchical_section_title: Du battant des lames au sommet des montagnes / Implementation problems / Problems on the shore
caption_attribution_description: Photo de la plage d'Étang Salé à la Réunion
context_page_description: Du battant des lames au sommet des montagnes is a French expression that formerly served to define the geographic concessions accorded by the French East India Company to the colonists of the island of Réunion when it was still called île Bourbon. Since then, the expression has become a common phrase, indeed a "fixed formula". In its strictest meaning, it acts grammatically as an answer to the question "how?" and explains the way in which the land was cut into straight bands that stretch from the shore to the highest points without ever stretching horizontally. On the other hand, considered in its broader meaning, the expression substitutes for an adverb of place, being a synonym for "everywhere".
context_section_description: Difficulties began when the authorities decided to set aside a fifty geometric-footstep zone along the island's shore. This restriction had not been formally stipulated in numerous prior deals: it was only as of 1736 that it was clearly mentioned during transactions. Indeed, it took a judgment of the Conseil Supérieur, dated 4 May 1765, to quash all objections and spell out with certainty the obligation to have a royal reserve along the coast. The establishment of this band around the entire island caused the expression to lose its initial meaning by distancing the lower limit of the concessions from the battant des lames.
caption: The concessions that stretch to the highest summits were cut off from their sea edges at the beginning of the 18th century.
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