Mr. deputy,
Since Tuesday, June 1, it is no longer possible to walk the splendid coastal path between Hendaye and Ciboure in the Basque Country.
The prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques has prohibited access for security reasons, because the erosion of the coastline causes the collapse of the cliff.
By 2043, it is even the departmental road of the Corniche which should disappear, announced the authorities.
And examples like this are plentiful.
According to forecasts from the Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks (Cerema), trips linked to coastal erosion should concern 5,000 housing units in France by 2100, for an amount of 800 million euros, in the most favorable hypotheses. In the most pessimistic scenarios, 50,000 housing units are affected, for an amount of 8 billion euros. And these calculations only take into account compensation, not the cost of infrastructure induced by the presence of new homes (roads, electricity network, Internet, etc.).
The Climate and Resilience Bill led by Barbara Pompili, discussed these days in the Senate, provides for a section on the coast, and in particular, a risk mapping for a certain number of coastal municipalities.
As chairman of the national coastline monitoring committee, could you tell us how many municipalities could be affected by this measure and whether the issuance of building permits in these areas defined as dangerous will be prohibited or only discouraged?
In addition, the Littoral Law of 1986 prohibits, in theory, everywhere on the French coast, the construction of houses less than 100 m from the sea. Do you think it is necessary to go further and extend this distance?
From what distance from the shore can we continue to build houses?
Finally, we know that the money received by the municipalities when they issue a building permit constitutes a significant income for the latter, which they may be reluctant to give up.
Should we compensate the most virtuous municipalities, those which build the least on the coast?
Should we enact stricter rules to prevent the whole country from having to pay later for houses built today in dangerous areas, despite known risks?
Readers of "Parisien - Today in France" are eager to read your answer.
Stéphane Buchou's response: "We will have to accept that we no longer have a sea view"
“Perhaps we will have to accept the idea that living by the sea will no longer necessarily mean having a view of the sea,” suggests Stéphane Buchou from the outset. This is a way of admitting, in essence, that in the future there should no longer be any question of building in the immediate vicinity of the coasts.
But at what distance exactly? "In some areas, 100 m is not enough, it will inevitably be necessary to retreat", estimates the member of the presidential majority. In other words, to go further than what the Littoral Law of 1986 provides. First and foremost, the municipalities concerned by the risk mapping provided for by the Climate Bill currently being discussed in the Senate. Their exhaustive list is not yet known, specifies the deputy. "What I advocate is that in areas threatened in the short term, the issuance of building permits is prohibited." But it is the law that will determine it.
Should compensation be provided for the virtuous municipalities that build the least on the coast? The Vendée parliamentarian is opposed to it. And for those who, on the contrary, authorize construction in areas where the dangers are nevertheless known? The hon. Member believes that we must start by enforcing the law. We must "ensure strict compliance with existing rules and ensure that there are no exemptions granted, as is sometimes the case," admits Stéphane Buchou, who relies above all on pedagogy.