This change is certain and mere containment will not combat it over time.
The retreat of the coastline requires the recomposition of the coastal territories concerned by anticipating the gradual relocation of dwellings and activities affected by erosion. To this end, in the extension of the first provisions voted in the Climate and Resilience law, additional measures are introduced by way of ordinance, presented to the Council of Ministers this Wednesday, April 6, 2022.
To secure and supervise the conditions for the acquisition by the public authorities of assets exposed to the retreat of the coastline, the ordinance firstly defines a preferred method for assessing the value of these assets, over a 30-year horizon. The value of a property is primarily determined by comparison with similar properties located in the same zone of exposure to erosion. In the absence of such references, a discount proportional to the foreseeable residual useful life may be applied to the value of a similar property located outside the area exposed to the retreat of the coastline.
Additionally, a new real lease type is created. The real lease for adaptation to coastal erosion may be concluded between a public lessor and a lessee on structures and buildings in areas exposed to the retreat of the coastline, for a period of between 12 and 99 years. This tool includes an early termination mechanism, depending on the evolution of erosion, if the safety of people and property can no longer be ensured. In order to take into account the conditions of acquisition of the property and to be able to finance the renaturation operations in the long term, the lessee pays a price at the signing of the lease and a fee during its term. The transfer price of the lease is also regulated to prevent situations where the rights in rem would be transferred at a disproportionate value with regard to the residual life of the asset.
Finally, the ordinance opens the possibility of derogating from certain provisions of the coastal law, in particular the obligation to build in continuity with the existing urbanization, when these provisions prevent the implementation of an operation of relocation of goods or activities threatened in areas less subject to the retreat of the coastline.
These derogations can only occur within the framework of a partnership development project contract (PPA) whose purpose is the spatial recomposition of the territory of a municipality exposed to the retreat of the coastline. They can only be mobilized when the constructions, works or installations threatened by the evolution of the coastline cannot be relocated within or in continuity with the existing urbanization, after agreement from the representative of the State in the department or from the Minister. in charge of urban planning, and after consulting the departmental commission for nature, landscapes and sites. These derogations cannot be granted in the event of excessive damage to the environment or the landscape.
These PPA contracts have already been tested in three pilot territories (Lacanau, Gouville-sur-mer, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz), which benefit from €10 million from France Relance.
- Some numbers:
20.000 km of French coastline including 22% of coastal areas subject to erosion. No French coastal region is spared by the phenomenon of the retreat of the coastline - 650 km of receding coastline, including 270 km at an average speed of 50 cm per year
- A population density on the sides currently 2,5 times higher than the national average, with an expected upward trend