What's changing this summer 2023
The movement and parking of motorized land vehicles on the coast are governed by Article L. 321-9 of the Environment Code.
The City of Gruissan, with 9.51 km of natural and preserved beaches, is committed alongside State services, such as the municipalities of La Nouvelle and Lapalme, to a general approach aimed at protecting the most sensitive areas while guaranteeing a gradual withdrawal of vehicles.
The municipality is fully in line with this scheme which seems to it to both temporarily preserve uses while gaining the agreement of local environmental associations.
These exchanges were validated from the sub-prefecture of Narbonne to the General Directorate for Planning, Housing and Nature (DGALN) of the Ministry for Energy Transition and Territorial Cohesion. On the strength of these agreements, the municipality has made more than €100.000 of investments on the Vieille Nouvelle beach for bathing safety, in 2022.
However, the intervention of the Prosecutor of Narbonne, mandated by the Keeper of the Seals and the Attorney General, has accelerated the timetable, since many people have been fined by the environmental police (OFB) in recent weeks at the Vieille Nouvelle.
The Prosecutor, whom the Mayor requested, underlined the criminal risk incurred by the municipal authorities in the state.
The municipal team took its responsibilities and decided to remove the signs describing the planned parking pockets in agreement with the State services, since they are likely to mislead the public.
In Gruissan, elected officials are required from July 2023 to enforce the regulations for access to natural beaches despite the access constraints that this causes for beach users and all those who practice water sports.
To venture on these beaches with a motorized vehicle would be to expose oneself to heavy fines. The City of Gruissan invites the population to change their mode of travel to the beaches, on foot, by bike or by public transport.
The municipality will launch environmental studies at the start of the school year to study the feasibility of parking pockets at the entrance to the beach and in compliance with the coastal law, as planned.
The City of Gruissan is doing everything possible to ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy seaside pleasures on its beaches in the future.
