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Towns in south of France halt new building projects due to drought

The Local France
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Towns in south of France halt new building projects due to drought
This photo shows a partially dried lake near Tourve in the Var departement in southeastern France, on February 21, 2023. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

Local authorities in towns in the south of France have placed a four-year moratorium on the issuing of new building permits as the country grapples with ongoing droughts.

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Nine municipalities in the south of France have announced that they will not issue any new building permits for the next four years, due to persistent drought and low groundwater levels.

According to reporting by 42 Mag, officials said that the areas concerned already have high populations, and the priority is to ensure adequate access to water for those already living there.

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Located in the Var département, the municipalities that will impose the new restriction are Bagnols-en-Forêt, Callian, Fayence, Mons, Montauroux, Saint-Paul-en-Forêt, Seillans, Tanneron and Tourrettes.

Only permit applications submitted prior to February 2023 will be considered for new builds, although locals will still be able to do renovation or extension works. 

"It's better to tell people not to build and that they will need to delay their project than to say 'go ahead and build' and find that they do not have enough water supplied when they move in," Jean-Yves Huet, mayor of Montauroux (Var), told Franceinfo.

Var is already under water restrictions as a result of a prolonged winter drought.

While municipalities' decision was approved by the head of the departement (the préfet), the president of the Var Building Federation, Jean-Jacques Castillon, told 42 Mag that he feared the move would lead to "dramatic consequences for the sector".

The water situation

In the east of the Var, the rivers have been dry for many months and the water tables are at their lowest in the nine communes of the canton of Fayence, according to Franceinfo.

The municipalities' decision to limit building came shortly after the French environment minister held an emergency meeting with local authorities to address the severe shortage of rain over the winter, which risks plunging the country into another punishing drought this summer.

The minister called the situation "alarming" and urged that action be taken now in order to avoid more serious problems in the summer.

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Although it’s not unusual to have warnings and restrictions in place over the summer, especially in the south, this year five départements (including Var) are already under some level of water restrictions.

Water restrictions in place in France as of March 2nd. Screenshot by the Local from Propluvia

In January, environmental experts already warned that the country would likely face a "very dry year" in 2023 after high temperatures and low rainfall in 2022.

READ MORE: How likely are droughts and water restrictions in France in summer 2023?

After France experienced 32 days with no significant rainfall - beating previous winter drought records - forecasters warned that the month of March would be "decisive" for the country when it comes to rainfall.

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