a farmer and his wife become the first climate displaced persons in the department

Faced with the advance of the sea on his property and the growing risk of flooding, David Lecordier and his wife are forced to leave their farm located in Montmartin-sur-Mer, in the Manche region.

They no longer have a choice. In Montmartin-sur-Mer, in Manche, David Lecordier and his wife Claudine are going to leave their home. Faced with the unstoppable rise in water levels, the authorities ordered the couple in 2019 to leave their farm, making them the first climate displaced persons in the department.

The farming couple saw their land bought by the Conservatoire du Littoral before its demolition and began to pack up their boxes.

“It’s been five years of doubts and struggles and hope, but we accepted the conditions,” David Lecordier told BFM Normandie.

“It’s a strong emotion”

The couple will now settle elsewhere and open a campsite with their son-in-law Jérôme. But these are many family memories that disappear with the building. “I knew my great-grandfather here, my grandfather who recently died. I spent a lot of vacations here with them. So it’s a strong emotion,” explains Jérôme.

Faced with the advance of the sea on the land, the municipality has decided to no longer issue building permits. “Our duty is to protect existing constructions, but also not to aggravate the problem with additional constructions,” explains the mayor of Montmartin-sur-Mer Bruno Quesnel to BFM Normandie.

David and Claudine Lecordier are not the only ones concerned. France is particularly vulnerable to the retreat of the coastline, the boundary between land and sea, which shifts under the effect of natural phenomena (swell, wind), rising sea levels and human interventions.

The Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, Environment, Mobility and Development has estimated that 1,046 housing units could be threatened by 2028. By 2050, 5,208 housing units, including nearly 2,000 in second homes would be threatened.