François de Canson warns of climate and economic challenges
Elected president of the Syndicat des Communes du Littoral Varois, the vice-president of the Région set a course to protect the coast from climate challenges.
During his inaugural speech on May 11, François de Canson, the new president of the Syndicat des Communes du Littoral Varois (SCLV), presented a clear and ambitious vision for the future of the Var coast, a territory he described as a "major strategic space" for the nation. Before an audience of local elected officials, he stressed the urgency of collective action in the face of upheavals of unprecedented scale, while praising the work accomplished by his predecessor, Gil Bernardi.
VULNERABLE TERRITORY The new president first recalled the economic and social weight of the coastline, the beating heart of the department's attractiveness. With nearly 8 million annual tourists and a constantly increasing resident population on the Mediterranean coast, the Var is a hub of life and development. "Beyond tourism, the coastline has become a true living space," insisted the vice-president of the Région Sud in charge of major risks.
This attractiveness also relies on major strategic assets: the Toulon arsenal, Europe's leading military port, industrial flagships like Naval Group and Orange Marine, and cutting-edge research centers such as IFREMER. "The Var coastline alone concentrates major environmental, economic, industrial, scientific, and strategic challenges for the future of our country," summarized the mayor of La Londe-les-Maures.
Yet, this territory remains deeply fragile. The president listed the growing threats: climate change, the effects of which are already visible (sea-level rise, coastal erosion), plastic pollution, conflicts of use, and high real estate pressures that complicate housing access for residents. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK In this respect, local elected officials are on the front line of a complex layer of regulations.
Faced with these challenges, which have become a national concern as shown by the ongoing study of the Conseil d'État on "La mer et les politiques publiques", local elected officials find themselves at the forefront. The president of the SCLV pointed out the complexity of an increasingly dense regulatory framework, citing the Stratégie Nationale Mer et Littoral, the SCoT, or the Climat et Résilience law. The latter has classified 19 Var coastal municipalities in an exposure zone for shoreline recession, forcing them to integrate thirty- or one hundred-year projections into their urban planning documents.
"We act in the present while sometimes planning thirty, or even one hundred years ahead. And this without absolute certainty about the resources our territories will have tomorrow," lamented François de Canson, recalling that the question of funding adaptation, particularly through the national fund dedicated to coastal erosion, "remains fully open."
This is why he wishes to turn the SCLV into a hub of expertise and innovation. Thus, building on the solid foundations laid by the association in recent years – protection of cetaceans with the Pelagos agreement, improvement of bathing water quality, recovery of posidonia – the new president called to "take a new step." The objective is to transform the SCLV into a true hub of expertise and territorial innovation, in synergy with the plans launched by the Région Sud.
The urgency is palpable, he recalled, citing alarming projections: "We all know here that the Var will probably be the French department hardest hit by coastal erosion by 2050. More than 400 homes and more than 100 business premises are directly threatened." To cope, the association must pool experiences, experiment with solutions, and "make the voice of the Var coastline heard by ministries and major national institutions."
COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE In conclusion, François de Canson called for unity and collective intelligence among the territories. For him, the solution lies in the ability of municipalities to work together to protect their environmental resources without sacrificing their economic dynamism. "Our collective responsibility lies there: preserving what makes the soul of our coastline while lucidly preparing its future," he asserted, convinced that the SCLV will be a major player in this ambition in the years to.
Photos DR.