From country houses to town halls, second-home owners are getting involved in local politics.

Domiciled elsewhere than in their holiday town, these occasional residents do not vote there, but are subject to the decisions of the municipal council which can, in areas considered to be strained in terms of housing, increase the housing tax on secondary residences, up to +60% of the municipal share.

"I don't know of any tax that is imposed on people who were unable to choose the elected official who imposes it," attacks Bernard Olivier, head of a group of second home owners in Argelès-sur-Mer, in the Pyrénées-Orientales.

In tourist areas, the proliferation of second homes and seasonal rentals contributes to rising property prices, pushing out local workers who struggle to find housing all year round.

Mireille Sertout, president of a federation of mountain resort residents, advises her members to "register at least one person per household on the electoral list" of the resort municipality, in order to "be visible" and have a right to vote.

The instruction was applied in Argelès-sur-Mer, where Bernard Olivier estimates that 700 occasional residents have registered on the electoral lists of the municipality of just over 10.000 inhabitants, motivated by the rejection of the surcharge.

According to him, groups have formed and are mobilizing in "several dozen municipalities." "There is widespread discontent," confirms Mireille Sertout, who organized a meeting in Paris in December, to which groups from mountain and coastal communities were invited.

Some owners are prepared to go even further and stand as candidates in the election of their holiday municipality.

No "harassment"

On the Opal Coast, Merlimont (Pas-de-Calais) has 70% second homes among its 5.000 dwellings and constitutes a "jewel" with its protected natural areas and its residential neighborhoods, according to its mayor Mary Bonvoisin, who is seeking a third term at the head of the town of 3.400 permanent inhabitants.

A competing list had been put together by Thierry Pamart, who has owned a second home for 30 years, which he moved into upon his retirement three years ago.

He withdrew, for health reasons, in favor of Alain Boulanger, a resident of the town for 31 years and the new head of the list, composed of 30% second home owners, most of whom plan to settle in Merlimont in the coming years.

His program includes "gradually reducing the increase in the housing tax" on second homes based on the municipality's debt, and other measures concerning public services and housing for seasonal workers.

The outgoing mayor insists she has "nothing against second homes, on the contrary. But if we have been classified as a tense zone it is because there is a real imbalance" in access to housing.

She defends her choice to increase the housing tax: "Many second homes are closed all year round. If owners see an increase in the tax, they may ask themselves what to do with this property: rent it out, renovate it, sell it."

The surcharge represents "on average 168 euros per second home" in Merlimont, Mary Bonvoisin points out. "Owners are not being taxed excessively."

"We finance the community even though we represent less spending because we are less present," says Bernard Olivier, who had also launched a campaign for the municipal elections in Argelès-sur-Mer, before joining forces with another candidate.

False, according to Jean-Paul Lebas, of the national collective of permanent residents. "Second homes are expensive for the community, which has to size its infrastructure at a level significantly higher than its population."

Where he lives, in Lège-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), "we go from 8.000 permanent residents to 100.000 people in the summer. In terms of wastewater management, for example, it's very important" and this "justifies the surcharge" according to him.

"This movement of second homes is not legitimate, it is a selfish reaction of spoiled children," asserts Jean-Paul Lebas.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.