Coastal erosion forces restaurant evictions in France

Restaurant owners along the French coast are facing eviction orders due to shifting maritime public domain boundaries caused by coastal erosion. In the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, business owners have been notified to vacate their premises within four months following a revision of the coastline limits in March.

This administrative change, driven by rising sea levels and sediment loss, reclassifies private property as part of the maritime public domain. Under these regulations, owners and managers may lose their properties without compensation. Business owners, such as Mourad Bouzaiane in Villeneuve-Loubet, have expressed significant distress over lost investments and the impact on their employees and families.

Similar disputes are occurring in other regions, such as La Ciotat in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, where property owners are contesting the integration of their land into the public domain.