The straw huts at the Grande Plage in La Grande-Motte (Hérault) are over. By virtue of a decision by the administrative court of appeal of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), La Voile Bleue, La Paillote Bambou and L'Effet Mer, three beach restaurants in the seaside resort, were asked to move. “For years, we acted as if these concessions did not disturb nature, fauna and flora. However, these three establishments are in a remarkable classified area (ERC). Under the terms of the coastal law, they have nothing to do there,” explains Françoise Clerc, president of the Grande Motte Environnement Association (AGME), which led the fight. “They were relocated to an urbanized area which, economically, is a neutral operation,” she assures.
“It would have been wiser to remain as is for the last year of the concession. The presence of these three establishments was likely to secure this coastal area at the gates of the resort, day and night, says Mayor Stéphan Rossignol on the contrary. I invite the environmentalists who fueled this fight to come and see what this space will be like this summer, especially at night. »
No ban in Mauguio-Carnon
West of the Grand Travers, on the same beach but in the territory of the neighboring town of Mauguio-Carnon, point of prohibition for the four small beach concessions (mattresses, deckchairs and salad bar). “Our establishments are incommensurable. They are less than 20 m2,” we explain at the town hall.
Me Pierre Jean-Meire, AGME's lawyer, is not convinced: “This part of the beach is in the classified remarkable area. Small refreshments or just a few mattresses, according to the law, this is not their place! » The hunt for straw huts is not over.