French officials order the destruction of a house in Perpignan
The villa was constructed over ten years ago
The owner of an illegally built house will be billed up to €20,000 for its demolition (Image for illustration only)
roibu/Shutterstock
A villa in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) has been destroyed under State order after a 10-year legal battle.
The house, measuring around 60m², was demolished by a mechanical digger on Tuesday (July 8), reports a local branch of FranceBleu.
The construction of the property was deemed to be an act of cabanisation, which the French government defines as: “the unauthorised construction of buildings or facilities occupied on an episodic or permanent basis, in areas that cannot be built on, whether agricultural or natural, and often in areas that risk flooding or forest fires.”
In this case, the owner legally purchased the rural land but built the home without any planning permission.
The Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture identified the house and filed a complaint in 2015. The owner was convicted in 2018 but appealed the decision, before being convicted once again in 2023.
The prefecture had issued several formal notices before the State was forced to step in as the owner failed to take action. The owner was not present at the scene, however will be sent a bill of “up to €20,000,” to cover the demolition costs, Perpignan sub-prefect Nathalie Vitrat told FranceBleu.
A second illegal property built by the same owner was also officially demolished a few years prior in the neighbouring commune of Canohès.
Read also: What are the rules for demolishing and rebuilding property in France?
Combatting cabanisation in the south of France
"There are 60 new cases of cabanisation in the department every year,” said Ms Vitrat.
A house in the Pyrénées-Orientales commune of Maureillas-las-Illas was destroyed in March, and other demolitions will take place this summer in the mountains in the communes of Saillagouse and Enveitg.
A government tool, AIGLE, has been developed to help combat the issue. It uses artificial intelligence to analyse and compare satellite images, automatically detecting illegal constructions and the misuse of land.
“It detects permanent structures (houses, chalets, etc.), mobile homes, caravans, swimming pools and boats," reads the dedicated website.
Read also: New pool must go due to neighbour’s ‘protected view’ clause in France
The system has been in use in the department of Hérault since 2022 and in the Gard since 2023.
Some 30,000 plots have been detected in Hérault, including 8,500 for which the statutory deadline (six years in criminal law and 10 years in civil law) has not passed, and 5,700 in high-risk areas for natural disasters.
The AIGLE website details the intention to extend the programme to new departments in 2025, giving 50 local authorities direct access to the tool’s use.
The tool will also be tested for other uses, such as monitoring illegal waste dumps and water reservoirs.
