In the Var hinterland, the Argens plain is one of the most fertile in Europe. But little by little, its fields are covered with warehouses, storage places and basic dwellings. “There, we see that there is concrete, bitumen, scrap metal, certainly. It’s crazy”, laments Stéphane Morféa, market gardener in the plain. A large part of the Argens is however classified as agricultural and flood-prone, that is to say unbuildable, zones. According to article R521-23 of the town planning code, only are authorized “(…) the constructions and installations necessary for farming or for the storage of equipment (…)”. Hundreds of hectares of land are thus illegally diverted by individuals or professionals. “It’s lost and we can never put them back in cultureaccording to Stéphane Morféa for whom the issue is also economic. They arrive with greater potential and therefore they can put in more money than us.”
These are lost lands, we will never be able to put them back into cultivation.
Stéphane Morféa, market gardener
A few kilometers from the coast, with land and real estate pressure, these lands of the Argens stir up covetousness and fuel speculation. In the Var, the average price of a square meter of agricultural land sells for around 2 euros, according to the Land Development and Rural Establishment Company (Safer). But today, the price can sometimes reach 50 euros. On the internet, dozens of classified ads offer these prohibitive prices. We went to the north of the department, to one of these plots for sale: 1,044 square meters, 44,000 euros. 20 times the agricultural price. On the phone, the real estate agent – who does not know that it is registered – justifies this price, on the pretext that one could in particular, install there, quite legally, a small house without foundation. “As it can accommodate a home, it takes on a little more value. The land is flat, it’s a dead end. You will be well located”, she adds. In front of the field, we randomly cross paths with the owner. She says she assumes not to respect the agricultural price. “They want me to sell it for 2 euros per square meter, I said no, she says. I sell in recreational areas, it’s the fashion for “tiny houses”, as there is electricity and as it is serviced in fact. I’m selling a little above the price, I have to find a place.” Agricultural land sold almost at the price of building plots, where even entrepreneurs sometimes settle. This is the case of a dealer in Roquebrune-sur-Argens. For having built his warehouse without authorization, he will be tried on May 12. “If I have to close, then everyone closes, says the man who faces several thousand euros in fines. Everywhere is agricultural land. Maybe I’m cheating but if it’s land and there’s no agriculture on it.”
Is there, in the Var, a feeling of impunity in the face of the diversion of use of agricultural land? In Roquebrune-sur-Argens, Jean Cayron, the centrist mayor, ensures that his municipal police draw up dozens of reports every year for town planning offences. Regularly without effect, as with this man who transformed his agricultural land into a dump. “There were 4 offense reports, 24 handbooks and an administrative procedure”retraces the chosen one before entrusting a certain weariness. “We feel a bit alonesays the mayor. We are not going to continue like this if the State or justice does not help us. When contacted, Safer indicated that it fights daily against the diversion of use, in particular by pre-empting land when a transaction seems suspicious to it.
Among our sources (non-exhaustive list):
Var prefecture
Directorate of Studies – Land Development and Rural Settlement Companies (Safer)
Huts, rubble, car storage… farmers in the Var are protesting against the misuse of fertile land (Var Matin – April 4, 2023)