The aim of this PhD is to understand factors controlling sea cliff erosion at both local scale, based on Socoa cliff (Basque country) and at global scale. The specificity of Socoa's flysch cliff is its strong structural control. A 6 year photogrammetric study from annual records was conducted. This resistant cliff erodes slowly at 3.4 mm/yr and rockfalls occur mostly at cliff edge. A database called GlobR2C2 (Global Recession Rates of Coastal Cliffs) was set up. It is the first one to compile erosion rate data extracted from literature and to compare it to marine and continental forcing, extracted from worldwide grids and reanalyses. It was statistically analysed through exploratory analysis and random forest. At global scale, rock resistan...