Beach huts: a source of significant income for municipalities

"If we close them, we'll cut off our arm"

Where they bring in the most is in La Grande-Motte. Each of the huts brings in "on average, 175 000 euros in rent", recently revealed Stéphan Rossignol, the mayor of the Hérault city. Which represents, in total, the nice sum of 700,000 euros. This is much more than in Sète: its eight straw hut concessions brought in 400,000 euros for the City last year.

400 000 euros, this is also what the Leucate town hall receives, each year, from the occupancy fee for public space through the huts. "This fee is calculated in part on the turnover, explains Valérie Cros, deputy general director of the Aude city. The more the turnover of the huts increases, the more the fee increases. It’s a win-win. She calls him back:"beach lots are a very important income for the municipalities".

The public "largely in favor of straw huts"

"We pay back to the State 135 000 euros, which corresponds to 30 % of the revenue that the ;we are doing this in the maritime domain", specifies Francis Hernandez, deputy mayor. Who insists on the importance of straw huts: "these are structures that integrate into the city, they have significant economic benefits for us" . He concludes: "if we close them tomorrow, we'll cut off an arm.

But we also penalize the public. In 2023, in Aude, the public inquiry carried out by the State for the renewal of the general concession, observes Valérie Cros, "a very strong Public participation was, in a large majority, in favor of straw huts on all the beaches of Leucate".

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