Xavier Marmier lives in a hut hanging from a tree, in the heart of a forest in Cléron (Doubs): ordered by the town hall to destroy it, he seized the European Court of Human Rights to save his place of life, said his lawyer on Tuesday.
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Solidly hung on the trunk of a large beech tree, several meters high, Xavier Marmier's wooden hut is " a child's dream " in perfect harmony with nature, as he likes to repeat. The house of about 40 m2 in which he lives all year round with his partner is heated with a wood stove, supplied with electricity by solar panels and water thanks to the recovery of rain. " With the tacit agreement of the mayor " of the time, Xavier Marmier began construction in 2008 on a wooded lot he had just bought in Cléron.
"Last resort"
When a new councilor arrives at the town hall in 2014, he asks him to regularize his situation by applying for a building permit, which the owner does. But the request was immediately refused by the town hall. The mayor then seizes the high court of Besançon, which decides in favor of Xavier Marmier. But in March 2019, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the town and condemned the 50-year-old climber-pruner to destroy its construction, considered to be its main home and located in the Natura 2000 area.
After the rejection of his cassation appeal on February 13, Xavier Marmier's lawyers sent an appeal to the ECHR last weekend. It is based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right of everyone to the respect of " his private and family life, his home and his correspondence ".
" It is the last resort because all the internal legal channels are extinct ", declared to AFP Elise Gheidene, lawyer near Me Randall Schwerdorffer who ensures the defense of Xavier Marmier. " This house remains a tree house, in harmony with nature, not at all the classic construction of a concrete house ". " The court of appeal made a strict application of the texts, without asking what would be the consequences for the life of Mr. Marmier: he will end up on the street ", underlines Elise Gheidene.