Is the fun over at the Grand Travers? On December 21, the administrative court of Montpellier (Hérault) once again signaled the end of the ball, on this long beach of fine sand: seized by two associations, the judges canceled the precarious building permits that the commune of La Grande-Motte had granted L’Effet Mer, La Voile bleue and La Paillote Bambou. Earthquake on the Montpellier coast: these three ultra-popular huts will not be able to set up their barn next summer on this seaside classified as a Remarkable Coastal Area. The law prohibits it.
“Fortunately, in France, there are laws,” says Françoise Clerc, president of the Grande-Motte Environnement association, who took legal action with the Association of Residents and Friends of the Grand Travers. Sometimes these laws are a little forgotten. So there are people like us, who put energy into making them respected. »
“The huts were installed completely illegally”
Because for years, these straw huts had been… tolerated. A ministerial report on beach concessions in Hérault (read here) indicated in 2023 that “the huts were installed completely illegally in the years 1995-2005. The State did not oppose it (and still collects royalties and taxes) and the municipalities are “paid” […]in the form of royalties. […] Controls remained rare for a very long time, even if administrative measures have been very restrictive in recent years. »
Since then, these private beaches have suffered setback after setback in court. Before Christmas, the last hard blow, in front of the administrative court, seems to sound the death knell of the fiesta, in Grand Travers: the temporary building permits on a precarious basis granted to L’Effet Mer, La Voile bleue and La Paillote Bambou , which allow freedom from town planning rules in the event of real necessity, have no reason to exist, said the court (read here).
The mayor of Grande-Motte “committed to preserving the 2024 season”
“Building permits […], although dismantled outside the periods from April to September and limited to two years, did not respond to specific needs relating to reasons of an economic, social, cultural or planning order making it possible to infringe the rules of urban planning,” ruled the judges. The strong economic interest of these private beaches, which had been highlighted by the 2023 ministerial report, did not attract the attention of the court. “The judgment held that in La Grande-Motte, there was already a more than satisfactory offer of restaurants, and that there was not the absolute necessity of installing these straw huts in these remarkable spaces”, indicates to 20 minutes Pierre Jean-Meire, the lawyer who brought this matter to court with the associations.
For its part, the seaside resort indicates to 20 minutes that “the mayor [Stephan Rossignol, LR] is fully committed to preserving the 2024 season and is working to find a solution to this issue.” The municipality appealed the decision, in particular to “lift the condition precedent of the judgment”. “We are therefore awaiting the legal decision and are considering, in collaboration with the prefecture services, other solutions on these locations or elsewhere in the town,” indicates the town hall.
“Just shift them, outside the Remarkable Spaces”
Because “beyond the tourist attraction”, she assures, “many crucial issues surround beach restaurants, such as the economic aspect with the promotion of short circuits and local producers, the creation of seasonal jobs and the guarantee of safety on the beaches”. For the seaside resort, the disappearance of these three huts would be a catastrophe. However, there are other places where the municipality can grant them the right to settle, underlines Pierre Jean-Meire, the associations’ lawyer. “You just need to shift them, outside of the Remarkable Spaces,” he confides. Moreover, the applicant associations are not anti-huts. ” Absolutely not ! They are part of the Hérault ecosystem, and of Grande-Motte in particular,” assures the lawyer.
Elsewhere, in France, are there other huts illegally placed on Remarkable Spaces? Pierre Jean-Meire has experienced lots of hut cases: this Nantes lawyer is a specialist in coastal law, within the Olex firm. As surprising as it may seem, Hérault is an exception in France, he assures.
“It’s really specific to Hérault”
“In all the other files on which I work, in Corsica, in Brittany, everywhere… The beaches classified as Remarkable Areas are protected by the prefectures, which do what is necessary to protect them,” assures the lawyer. As soon as people venture to want to carry out economic activities in these spaces, they are immediately caught by the DDTM police. [Direction départementale des territoires et de la mer], and severely slapped themselves on the wrist. In Hérault, for a very long time, the prefecture turned a blind eye. I don’t claim to know all the files, everywhere in France…” But, thinks Pierre Jean-Meire, “it’s really specific to Hérault”.
“Remains”, no doubt, thinks this expert in coastal law, from the spirit of the Racine Mission, which massively encroached on natural spaces to develop the local seaside resorts. “It’s the cultural exception of Hérault,” laments Françoise Clerc. There is the Republic, and there is Hérault. And in Hérault, La Grande-Motte. » Are L’Effet Mer, La Voile bleue and La Paillote Bambou doomed on the Grand Mottois coastline? The Plages plus association, which brings together the beach concessions of Occitanie, and its president Joël Ortiz, the boss of Voile Bleue, as well as the services of the Hérault prefecture, did not respond to requests from 20 minutes.