At a time when we are hearing reports of the appointment of a prime minister who would be in charge of ecological planning for France, the government, as part of the Climate and Resilience Act, has published a list of 126 French municipalities that will be required to take urgent measures to adapt to coastal erosion.
Successive IPCC reports have clearly established the risk of rising sea levels and their impacts on coastal populations. Going forward, mayors will be responsible for producing coastal erosion risk maps with 30-year and 100-year projections, which will inform planning under the new land-use regulations. 126 municipalities across the country are at risk, including some of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations. In mainland France, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz to La Tranche-sur-Mer, this affects 31 municipalities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine; from Saint-Nazaire to Saint-Brieuc, 41 municipalities in Brittany and 16 in Normandy, not to mention the south, with Collioure, Cassis…
The overseas territories are not spared
In Martinique, all municipalities in the North Atlantic and North Caribbean regions must prepare for changes to the coastline and the implications this will have for urban planning regulations and funding. French Guiana is not spared, as Cayenne is directly threatened. As for Guadeloupe, Grande Terre—and particularly the municipality of Saint François—are the most vulnerable.
In reality, according to some NGOs, the risk is much higher and would affect a much larger area. According to France Nature Environnement, 864 municipalities are at risk of coastal flooding, and 1.5 million people live along these areas, which have become prone to flooding in the short term, as we are already seeing.
All of this now raises the question of the value of coastal properties and, above all, of the measures that need to be implemented to relocate the populations.
This is certainly a colossal task that has received very little attention so far.
France Strategy, the General Commission for Strategy and Foresight, is a think tank and advisory body responsible for coordinating and planning public policy in the context of climate change. In its latest report, it proposes “a national sustainability strategy” which is intended to “reconcile environmental, social, and democratic issues” in the fight against climate change.
“Knowledge is power”
In light of this emergency, about 20 prominent figures have called for an op-ed, published on May 8 in the *Journal du Dimanche*, calling on members of the government to educate themselves on climate issues: “We expect you to participate in a rigorous, 20-hour in-person training program—without delegating your participation—that follows the methodology of relevant institutions addressing the climate issue from all angles, not limited to energy-related challenges. Training is the essence of transformation. Knowledge is power.”
Nathalie Laulé
