The competitive examinations for the recruitment of teachers in history and geography now fully integrate environmental issues, reflecting both the central importance of interactions between societies and environments in geography, recent epistemological developments, and the exposure of future teachers to major civic challenges. This presence has steadily increased over recent decades, from the 1999–2000 reform of the external agrégation in geography to the recent thematic question “Environments: Geographical Approaches” (2024–2027). Particular attention is paid to French territories, especially overseas territories, which are rich in biodiversity yet fragile and highly exposed to global climate change. The study of French coastal areas, featured in the competitive examination programmes, clearly illustrates this approach: these spaces, made highly attractive by coastal development and tourism, concentrate populations and activities, while remaining highly vulnerable (erosion, submersion, cyclones) and shaped by conflicts of use. The Étang de Berre exemplifies a saturated, industrialised and polluted coastal area, now engaged in a difficult environmental and industrial transition.