“The State only intervenes in this way as a last resort”: a mobile home and its outbuildings, built illegally, are razed

Les démolitions se sont déroulées ce jeudi 26 septembre, en début de matinée. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

The implementation of a court decision dating back several years took place on the morning of Thursday, September 26, in the territory of the commune of Saint-Bénézet, near Alès, in the Gard.

As part of the fight against illegal constructions, the Committee for the Fight against Illegal Constructions (Colci) approved, this Thursday, September 26, early in the morning, the demolition of illegal constructions located on the territory of the Gard commune of Saint-Bénézet, located near Alès. The author of the works had been found guilty, on October 9, 2015, by judgment of the Alès criminal court, confirmed by a judgment of the Nîmes court of appeal of September 15, 2017, of having built, without authorization, in a natural zone of the urban planning document and a zone of very high fire risk, a 37 m2 mobile home, with its terrace, several enclosures (42 m2 and 60 m2) and wooden shelters (42 m2).

Eviction proceedings had been initiated

In addition to a fine, The judge had ordered the restoration of the premises within six months, subject to a penalty of 75 euros per day of delay. However, after noting that no demolition had been carried out, an eviction procedure was initiated, prior to the ex officio execution of the court decision.

Numerous formal notices from the Gard prefect

The Gard prefecture specifies that “the State only intervenes in this way as a last resort, and when all the execution procedures have not been successful. This is the case in this instance, the interested party having not proceeded with the demolition of his residence, despite the numerous formal notices from the prefect, notified on July 13, 2018, October 17, 2018, June 10, 2021 and February 17, 2023." This demolition is part of an objective to combat cabinization, "a pernicious and significant phenomenon of fragmentation of protected, natural or agricultural areas, or areas at risk".