MPs vote to increase fines for breach of brush clearance obligations

The deputies voted, Tuesday, May 16, in favor of an aggravation of the fines when owners of plots in areas at risk of fire have breached legal obligations of clearing. The measure was examined as part of a bill to better prevent forest fires, adopted at first reading unanimously in the Senate.

“We must leave nothing to chance, and let people know how crucial they are”, insisted the Minister in charge of Territorial Communities. Dominique Faure supported the increase in fines, going from 30 to 50 euros per square meter subject to an obligation of brushing, in territories classified at risk and departments where woods and forests are particularly exposed to fires.

“The challenge is information”

The oppositions, for their part, pleaded for more education on this subject. “There are already criminal and financial sanctions in the texts. (…) It is better to dialogue rather than go through the sanction”pleaded the rebellious MP Catherine Couturier. “The issue is really information. A number of small owners are unaware of this legal obligation”added Thibault Bazin, elected from the Les Républicains party.

MEPs also adopted an article to limit the risks around Seveso sites, which contain a certain amount of hazardous materials. When these sites are located less than 200 m from woods or forests in territories at risk of fire or departments where woods and forests are particularly exposed, the obligation to clear brush would be increased to 100 m around this area, at the instead of 50. The distance may be extended to 200 m by decision of the prefect.