French Government Will Destroy Houses of Storm Survivors

An aerial view taken on March 3 shows flooded fields in the Vendee region of western France, three days after the storm dubbed 'Xynthia' unleashed gale force winds and torrential rains, destroying roads and houses along France's Atlantic coast and left 53 dead. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

PARIS—The French government has decided to stay firm on its decision to destroy more than 1,500 houses in areas of “extreme danger” along the Atlantic coast. The decision follows the deaths of 53 people from storm “Xynthia,” the violent winter storm that battered Europe’s west coast on Feb. 28.

Hope had risen among residents that they could save their homes following a statement made by Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux on April 11, in which he said, “There could be individual, precise, and discrete situations that could need a deepened analysis.”

On April 12, state secretary and president of local the general council Dominique Bussereau announced he would bring to President Sarkozy a motion passed by Charentes-Maritime general council that asks for all homes, especially those said to be in “extreme danger,” to be evaluated first, for what would be needed to protect them, before finalizing a decision to destroy them.

Yet on April 13, Prime Minister Francois Fillon declared following a special Cabinet meeting, that the criteria used by the French state to define the dangerous zone are “objective criteria, based on concrete, precise, observations. They are not to be challenged, at least not at the current stage.”

Compensation

Fillon further announced that owners of houses to be destroyed would be compensated within 1-3 months for a price equivalent to the value of their house before they were damaged by the storm.

“This has no precedent in our country,” said Fillon, who further said that support teams would meet with storm victims to offer individualized support.

‘Brutal Measures’

Xynthia victims, however, perceive the planned destruction to be brutal and unfair.

Several hundred have protested in the streets of the main cities that were damaged, holding banners saying, “Please note we are not cattle.”

In Le Monde newspaper and other media, many have complained that the destruction plan does not reflect real risks.

“This is the world upside down,” explained an owner who had to escape onto the roof of his flooded home during the storm. Another said he did not even have to sweep a drop of water out of his home, but is to be relocated. “I did not have any damage, insurance did not even come,” complained a woman, from L'Aiguillon city, who will have to leave.

“There are cases that must be revised. In some districts things do not make sense,” insisted Jean-Francois Faget, mayor of Charron on Europe 1 radio. Faget emphasized the tense emotional situation for victims, some of whom already threatened to defend their homes with guns.

Actions of despair could therefore happen, said Faget. “I’m afraid it could happen, I’m really afraid it could.”