Phare de la Potence, Lighthouse in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France

The Phare de la Potence is a lighthouse on the Atlantic coast, southeast of the harbor of Les Sables-d'Olonne in the Vendée region. The square stone tower stands on top of a house and rises to about 95 feet (29 meters), with a light visible from roughly 16 nautical miles out at sea.

Built in 1874 southeast of the harbor of Les Sables-d'Olonne, the lighthouse was designed to work in alignment with the Feu du Remblai on the seafront promenade, guiding vessels through the channel past the Nouch and Noura shoals. It was automated in 1965, after which the tower and its keeper's house were placed in the hands of the lighthouse service.

The name "Potence" comes from a bracket or gallows-shaped support once used for lamps on port buildings. The lighthouse stands at the southeast of the Port des Sables-d'Olonne, and its square stone tower rises above a house that now holds the offices of the Subdivision du Service des phares et balises des Sables-d'Olonne.

The lighthouse is visible from the coast and nearby beaches but is not open to the public, as the building serves as an office for the local maritime authority. Walking along the seafront of Les Sables-d'Olonne gives the clearest view of the structure from a short distance.

The tower forms a leading line with the Feu du Remblai on the seafront promenade: a ship keeping both lights in line enters the channel while clearing the Nouch and Noura shoals. The two lights are still used together for that approach today.