Since December 2022, Josette Huet has been banned from living in her house in Chaume-et-Courchamp in Côte-d’Or. A daily ordeal for her, who has to live in a caravan in her garden.
On December 5, 2022, Josette Huet’s life was turned upside down. Her house in Chaume-et-Courchamp in Côte-d’Or was declared uninhabitable by experts. Studies revealed the presence of cracks on the walls, ceilings and floors, due to the many droughts in recent years.
She bought this house 17 years ago with her husband, who has since died. Today, Josette has to live in a caravan installed in her garden. She only gets permission to use her bathroom and kitchen.
More than a year after our last meeting, Josette is still living in her caravan. When asked how she feels, the disaster victim has trouble holding back her tears. “There is a lot of emotion. I continue to live as I did a year and a half ago. I no longer have proper access to my house, I no longer have furniture. I can no longer receive anyone, I can no longer see my grandchildren at home.”
Why wasn’t she rehoused? Josette claims to have received no response from Groupama insurance. “There has been great silence since the beginning. I asked the question by sending a registered letter to the general director of insurance and I was told to go to the site for claims. I want to know why I I am not entitled to the assistance they offer on the site. I have not had a single call from them. she complains.
The caravan in which Josette Huet has lived for over a year
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© Muriel Bessard – France Télévisions
Thanks to the mobilization of several owners of the commune grouped together in a collective (there are around ten cracked houses in Chaume-et-Courchamp), the state of natural disaster for differential ground movements following drought and rehydration of the soil is recognized in May 2023. Good news for Josette Huet, provided she can prove that the cracks in her house are indeed due to these ground movements, because the burden of proof falls on the victims.
A double punishment according to Caroline Guédin, representative of the collective of angry residents: “To be able to be compensated, you have to advance funds that are enormous. For Josette, it is already 50,000 euros. Who can pay such sums? ?”
Traffic is prohibited near the house, by municipal decree
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© Muriel Bessard – France Télévisions
To add insult to injury, Josette Huet’s house is located on the side of the road and is in danger of collapsing. The mayor therefore issued an order prohibiting passage in front of his house, forcing residents and farmers and even firefighters to make a detour of several kilometers to cross the village.
The risk is that to definitively resolve the problem, the demolition of the house will be requested. This is also the wish of the community of municipalities. “I don’t understand what the point of politicians is if they side with insurers, rather than helping victims with the legal steps to take.“, deplores Caroline Guédin. As the demolition risks erasing all evidence, Josette Huet took legal action in June 2023.
A few days ago, a note from the expert paid by Josette Huet established the responsibility of drought for the cracks in her house. A first not encouraging… but which does not impose anything on Groupama.”From a strictly legal point of view, no obligation exists. [pour l’assureur] until the magistrate has decided this case. He will have the freedom to do so when we reach the bottom if we do not find an amicable agreement“, explained Maître Frédéric Télanga, Josette Huet’s lawyer.
Cracks on a facade of Josette Huet’s house, in Chaume-et-Courchamp.
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© Rodolphe Augier – France Télévisions
While waiting for the amicable agreement or the trial, there remains another step for the victim: to calculate the cost of the work… with a new expert study. Its cost: 9,000 euros payable, again, by the victim, who plans to launch an online prize pool.
I want to save her, it’s my life.
But, despite protracted procedures, Josette is determined to fight for her home. “Faced with the silence of assurance, I don’t know what will happen. It’s going to be a great fight, I think. I told my lawyer that I had made commitments and I will not stop, I have support.”
“I want to save her, it’s my life”she adds. “If it burns down, I have nothing left. I have worked my whole life to have nothing today. I hope that the house will be saved, that I will be able to find a good life there, to welcome my grandchildren and my friends, all those who saved me.”
More than half of the houses in France are located in areas affected by the phenomenon of shrinkage-swelling of clay soils due to drought.
