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Origin and history

The Donzère-Mondragon Dam, also known as the André-Blondel Dam, is an iconic hydroelectric project located on a canal parallel to the Rhône in southern France. Built between 1948 and 1952 in Bollène (Vaucluse), it was designed by the architect Theodosius Sardnal, a pupil of the Perret brothers, for the Compagnie nationale du Rhône (CNR). Inaugurated on October 25, 1952 by President Vincent Auriol, it symbolizes the major industrial sites of the Fourth Republic and the entry of France into the Thirty Glories. Its reinforced concrete architecture, rhythmized by glass pillars and claustras, marks the technical and aesthetic history of the post-war period. The site was listed as a Historic Monument on June 4, 1992.

With a power of 348 megawatts distributed over six Kaplan turbines, the dam is the most productive in the Rhône, providing 13% of the CNR's hydroelectric production (equivalent to Lyon's annual consumption). A lock of 23 metres of elevation — the highest in France — allows boats to pass, while a fish pass promotes the free movement of river fauna. The tragic accident of 2 February 1998, where a barge was submerged by a wave in the lock (caused by the death of a mariner), recalls the risks associated with this infrastructure.

The dam is part of a broader context of French energy modernization, with revealing comparisons: its power (350 MW) contrasts with that of the nearby nuclear power plants of Cruas and Tricastin (3,600 MW in total). A flagship of hydro-electric engineering, it also illustrates the challenges of reconciling energy production, river navigation and ecosystem preservation, as evidenced by the fish pass arranged a posteriori.

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