Coastal erosion: Hundreds of French homes risk becoming uninhabitable
More than 1,000 buildings are at risk by 2028, including many second homes, says government report
Around 900km of coastline in France is at risk over the coming decades
Stephane Bidouze/Shutterstock
Hundreds of homes in coastal areas of France are at risk of becoming uninhabitable in the coming decades as a result of erosion, the government has warned.
Around 1,000 buildings are at risk of erosion by 2028, which will affect many thousands more by 2100, warned Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu on TF1 this week .
More than 500 communes have already been identified as being at immediate risk, the minister said, with the government now working with local mayors to put “measures” in place to help.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Béchu said that the government’s aim was to “fight against climate warming”, which “also means adapting our country to its effects”.
"There will be uninhabitable areas [on the coast], 20% of which is being eaten away by coastal erosion,” said Mr Béchu. "The equivalent of a football pitch disappears every week in our country due to the advance of the oceans, a phenomenon that is accelerating.”
Read more: French second homes at risk of coastal erosion and other property news
The areas identified as most at risk are in Corsica, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Var, Calvados, Seine-Maritime, and Somme.
Many of the buildings and homes that are most at risk of erosion are holiday flats in shared residences. The ministry has identified 528 such residences - half of which are second homes - in 300 apartment blocks at risk of erosion by 2028. Their total market value is estimated at €167 million.
The ministry also identified as at risk:
340 outbuildings
191 public buildings
75 beachside establishments
90 hotels, restaurants, several holiday parks
28 coastguard emergency centres
21 nautical or surf school bases
Read more: Owners cannot access French home over fears it may fall into sea
900km of coastline at risk
The specific figures on the number of buildings set to be affected come from a report by the Centre d'études et d'expertises sur les risques, l'environnement, la mobilité et l'aménagement (Cerema).
Its studies have found that coastal erosion is putting around 900km of coastline at risk. Cerema has drawn up three scenarios, one for 2028, another for 2050 and a third for 2100.
These scenarios are based on aerial photos and satellite data. The group produced a national map of low-lying areas along the coast, using data from the French Navy, and the Institut Géographique National.
They also added an extra one metre to these figures, to simulate the rise in sea level between now and 2100 that has been predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Read more: COP26: New map shows 20% of French coast at risk from erosion
It comes after France's supreme audit institution, la Cour des Comptes, published a report on March 12, which showed that between 1960 and 2010, France lost almost 3,000 hectares of coastline to erosion.
It then recommended that a diagnosis of the problem across France be drawn up, taking into account the foreseeable rise in sea levels.
