The decision of the Loire-Atlantique departmental council to regularize illegal housing in the former zone to be defended (ZAD) of Notre-Dame-des-Landes provokes a strong reaction among local elected officials. On October 10, 2024, the department’s permanent commission validated the signing of 25-year long leases for associations of “user representatives” in several sectors of the former ZAD, a decision perceived by some as a bonus for continuation illegal occupations.
A controversial regularization despite the opposition of mayors
The mayors concerned, in particular those of Notre-Dame-des-Landes and Vigneux-de-Bretagne, expressed their dissatisfaction with this regularization, which goes against the town planning rules in force. Speaking in Le Figaro, Jean-Paul Naud, mayor of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, deplores that these cabins, often located in wetlands, are detrimental to the preservation of bocage lands. For her part, Gwenola Franco, mayor of Vigneux-de-Bretagne, criticizes an opaque approach of which she was only informed at the last minute. For these elected officials, these regularizations send the wrong signal by legitimizing illegal occupations to the detriment of other citizens who respect the rules.
The question of the equality of citizens before the law is at the heart of the controversy. While the administration comes to knock on your door for a window color, or for a building permit for a garden shed, or for a possible swimming pool, it must be admitted that these illegal constructions benefit from a complacency which encourages one to free oneself, like these owners ultimately, from the law and the rules of town planning
A gesture of “social peace” or a political drift?
Some opposition departmental councilors speak of complacency on the part of the departmental majority (leftist, eco-socialist) with regard to these illegal occupations, and an attempt to buy a form of social peace.
The socialist majority of the department, for its part, defends a case-by-case approach, aiming to integrate these habitats into a broader agricultural and environmental project. She insists on the need to ease tensions and gradually regularize the situation, while preserving the local countryside. However, the opacity of the process and the absence of in-depth consultation with local elected officials fuels the unease surrounding this decision.
While the former ZAD of Notre-Dame-des-Landes continues to spark intense debates, the question of the regularization of illegal housing remains a hot topic that divides local elected officials and residents. Not sure that these same elected officials would be delighted if the entire population began to free themselves from norms and laws…
Photo credit: DR
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