the inhabitants of the island of Yeu can no longer find accommodation

The island of Yeu, its ports and its beach are coveted. But this is expensive for the inhabitants, who can no longer find accommodation. “I’ve been struggling for a year, I don’t mean right to left, but where I’m staying”, explains Lionelle Arnaud, resident of the Ile d’Yeu, who is welcomed with her three daughters at a friend’s house. Born on the island, Lionelle Arnaud set up her farm three years ago. She is unable to find accommodation on the island and does not see herself leaving. “There is nothing. Five years of waiting list for HLM, rentals that are not for the year. We tell you for the year, but you have to leave for 15 days or two months during the summer”, she says.

The Ile d’Yeu has 5,000 inhabitants all year round and 25,000 in summer. More than seven out of ten dwellings are second homes, which are inhabited for barely two months a year. “We know that these houses, they will never be accessible again. A house at 1.8 million, we know that it will never come back in the heritage”, notes Roxane Berget, from the Les Enfants de Storm collective, who regrets that the inhabitants no longer have access to these properties.