Legal proceedings by France Nature Environnement against the Vendres straw huts

À Vendres comme ailleurs sur le littoral languedocien, la légalité des paillotes peut poser problème. – Olivier Got, Midi Libre

The association requests the cancellation of beach restaurant concessions in protected areas of the Hérault commune.

On January 26, the France Nature Environnement (FNE) association asked the administrative judge to cancel part of the renewal of the Vendres beach concession, as it had previously done. had done last August for the Aude beach of Leucate.

The Coastal Law prohibits the installation of beach establishments in these remarkable spaces – which can be Coastal Conservatory reserves, classified sites, or Natura 2000 areas – since 1986. But according to the association, on the Languedoc beaches, this legislation is far from being respected. In any case, this is what an inspection mission on huts in the Hérault department found, in a report from September 2022. &amp ;quot;Beach establishments must concentrate on urban areas, which are largely large enough to meet the desires of the tourist economy, writes the FNE in a press release. Mentalities must evolve."

According to the association, the prefecture granted a concession to the commune of Vendres, which exploited it by allocating  five lots to private providers, four of which are located in remarkable spaces. "There is pressure from operators, and also from local authorities, who get taxes from it, underlines Romain Ecorchard, from the FNE.< em> Their argument is to say that they have been installed for decades, decades since nothing has been said…hellip; But we must enforce the law. »

"Since 2022, the date on which the concession was to be renewed, we have benefited each year from a derogation regime, corrects the mayor of Vendres, Jean-Pierre Perez. We are in the process of drawing up a beach development plan, which will have to be approved by the Council of State, and which will allow us to become legal. There's nothing impossible about it: it's already been done for Pampelonne beach, in the Var."

The delays in justice being what they are, the straw huts are not threatened for this summer of 2024. Vendres, believes the elected official, was able to escape the concreting which submerged, for example, Cap d'Agde. The huts are only set up there between April 1 and September 30, and "they can coexist perfectly with the desire to preserve the environment. "