In Port-Grimaud, co-owners are requesting the creation of an independent municipality

Could the "Venice of Provence" become a municipality in its own right? In Port-Grimaud, a private lakeside town located in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, some of the co-owners have initiated proceedings aimed at obtaining administrative separation from the municipality of Grimaud, in the Var.

At the end of July 2026, 201 co-owners, representing, according to the project's proponents, the required third of the electorate of Port-Grimaud, submitted a petition to the prefecture. United within the Port-Grimaud 2028 movement, they advocate for the creation of an autonomous municipality after several years of legal disputes with the current administration.

A conflict arising from the port's takeover

The dispute mainly concerns the management of the water area and the mooring rings associated with the houses. Conceived in 1966 by the architect François Spoerry around the principle "one house, one quay, one boat", Port-Grimaud is made up of three private co-ownerships: PG1, PG2 and PG3.

The lakeside town covers 95 hectares and includes approximately 2.400 homes, seven kilometers of canals, shops, a church, and 2.000 boat slips. Designated a site of "Remarkable Contemporary Architecture," it welcomes nearly 1,4 million visitors each year.

For several decades, port activities were directly managed by owners' associations. In 2022, as the private concessions were nearing their end, the municipality of Grimaud took over management. It justified this decision by citing the port's financial situation and the necessary investments to combat silting and rising sea levels.

The previous concessions for the mooring rings located in front of the houses have also been terminated. The municipality offered the affected co-owners a contract guaranteeing them the use of a berth for 35 years, presented in its documentation as a right of occupancy of the public maritime domain.

Co-owners denounce a challenge to their rights

This new organization has led to numerous appeals. The co-owners in favor of the split accuse the municipality of calling into question rights attached, according to them, to their real estate and of making them bear the cost of port works deemed excessive.

"The municipality wants to appropriate the property of others at a low price, to dispossess part of its population by seizing the rights of the owners and making them pay for pharaonic works that they do not want!", protests Philippe de Saint-Rapt, president of the PG1 trade union association.

For Marc Dorgnon, spokesperson for Port-Grimaud 2028, the separation would be the logical outcome of relations that had become too conflictual. "We have diverging interests. So, like a couple who no longer get along, let's divorce!" he summarizes.

The municipality rejects a "far-fetched idea".

The mayor of Grimaud, Alain Benedetto, disputes the accusations made against the town. He maintains that the municipality has no intention of expropriating the owners or reclaiming their private quays.

The elected official also highlighted the cost of the numerous legal proceedings surrounding the port: "With 300.000 euros per year in legal fees, all these jokes are starting to add up to a lot of public money!"

At the end of August, the Draguignan court rejected the claim of co-owners who asserted a "real, private, exclusive, and perpetual right of enjoyment" over the ten meters of water located in front of their homes. The judgment reiterated the "imprescriptible and inalienable" nature of the public maritime domain.

Alain Benedetto also describes the creation of an independent municipality as a "far-fetched idea" championed by a minority. "I don't think it's feasible: you need territory to create a municipality," he argues.

Opposition is also being organized in Port-Grimaud

Not all owners support the separation project. A petition entitled "For Port-Grimaud to remain in Grimaud", launched at the end of August by a resident, had collected more than 420 signatures.

Some co-owners also denounce the cost of legal proceedings, to which they contribute through condominium association fees and municipal taxes. "We're from Grimaud, and we want to stay from Grimaud. It's as simple as that!" asserts Richard Grossi, an owner in PG2 and PG3.

An administrative procedure that will take at least a year

The Var prefecture indicates that the request for division is currently being processed. However, its submission does not guarantee its admissibility or the actual creation of a new municipality.

The petition must first be confirmed after a period of one year. The prefect may then decide to open a public inquiry, a prerequisite to any further proceedings.

Beyond the conflict over mooring rings, this case raises the question of the governance of an atypical urban complex, simultaneously a private condominium, a marina, a residential area and a major tourist destination on the Var coast.