French authorities have closed beaches in southwest France as packages of cocaine and other drugs continue to wash up daily along the Atlantic coast, with nearly 900 kilograms discovered since mid-October, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Officials said the cocaine was extremely pure at some 83 percent, warning people who find the packages not to touch them but to warn the police.

A 17-year-old was caught Monday with 5 kilograms of cocaine at Lacanau, a closed-off surfing beach near the southwestern city of Bordeaux -- he had come from Toulouse, a three-hour drive away.

Officials have reported the drugs turning up on beaches near Nantes all the way to the resort town of Biarritz, more than 500 kilometers to the south.

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