Private heritage at the heart of a public tug-of-war

The Associations Syndicales Libres (ASL) have initiated several legal proceedings against the municipality of Grimaud. At issue: the buyout of port concessions, the ownership of certain assets, the management of the body of water, and a vast municipal investment project. For Philippe de Saint Rapt, president of Port Grimaud, what is at stake is clear: "We are simply defending what belongs to the owners and the very spirit of Port Grimaud."

A FIRST FINANCIAL DISPUTE OF €1.7 MILLION The first dispute concerns the payment for returnable assets linked to the buyout of the marina concessions. The infrastructure currently used by the municipality was funded by the ASL, but the buyout value has still not been settled. For Port Grimaud I, the amount reaches "€1.7 million".

According to Philippe de Saint Rapt, the municipality "does not submit its pleadings in court" and is slow to have its experts work alongside those of the ASL. This inertia is perceived as a lack of real willingness to resolve the dispute other than through the courts.

CONTESTED ATTEMPTS AT APPROPRIATION Second front. The Municipality claims ownership of several assets belonging to the ASL, including roads, parking lots, buildings, and plots. These claims are contested, because "any disposal of the association's heritage can only be done with the approval of the general assembly."

For the owners, this is seen as an unjustified attempt at appropriation, especially since these assets have been funded and maintained by them since the very beginning.

THE STATUS OF THE BODY OF WATER, A CRITICAL ISSUE The third dispute concerns the public domain status of the body of water. The municipality wishes to integrate certain areas into the artificial public maritime domain. The ASL point out that this body of water is a "part". Each owner moreover pays "a property tax and a residence tax on the part of the body of water" they benefit from.

The issue goes beyond a simple legal scope: it touches upon the very nature of Port Grimaud, designed as a private port, not as a public marina.

A CONCERNING €110 MILLION MUNICIPAL PROJECT Added to these disputes is a municipal investment project estimated at "€110 million", of which "€59 million would be funded by the owners". The plan notably includes new, higher dikes that could alter the aesthetics of the maritime entrance and the hydraulic balance of the site. The ASL have already issued an unfavorable opinion during the 2025 consultation.

Residents fear a profound transformation of the lakeside town, which is registered as "Patrimoine du XXème siècle" and was labeled "Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable" in 2018. They also fear a financial logic in which Port Grimaud would become a source of revenue for the local authority, without any real benefit for its inhabitants.

AN EPISODE REVEALING A CLIMATE OF MISTRUST The atmosphere between the ASL of Port Grimaud and the municipality deteriorated significantly last summer, when a highly tangible incident crystallized tensions. On one of the plots belonging to the Association Syndicale des Propriétaires (ASP), the municipality installed a structure intended to welcome the public, without any prior authorization. According to the document, "the ASP was forced to file a complaint against the municipality, which had built an unauthorized installation on one of its plots."

This unilateral intervention was experienced as an intrusion into the management of a private heritage, funded and maintained by the owners since the origin of the lakeside town.

A DETERIORATING RELATIONSHIP The owners denounce a caricatured view by the municipality, which allegedly considers them "a bunch of wealthy people" capable of absorbing any charge. Yet they point out that they have never refused to contribute to the operation of the port, provided that the amounts are justified. "The residents agree to pay €500 annually, but not to write a check for €40,000 immediately, and then €2,000 per year for a service we do not have."

PRESERVING THE SPIRIT OF A UNIQUE SITE Beyond the legal proceedings, it is the very identity of Port Grimaud that is at stake. The owners defend a model based on small boats, gentle navigation, narrow canals, and controlled public access. They wish for the municipality to recognize the specificity of the site and "retrocede a portion of the tax revenues related to tourism to the ASL to finance visitor reception."

They also ask that the port authority and the State assume their share of the charges, as subdivision co-owners, which they are currently refusing to do.

For Philippe de Saint Rapt, what is at stake is simple: "Port Grimaud must remain a private lakeside village, open but protected. It is not a public port, and it is not a tourism product to be remodeled."