On the eve of the holidays, for the Julyists, we will wonder if we can walk everywhere in France.
It’s the holidays, and many of you have already hit the road to summer freedom and rest. What are our traffic rights, in the summer, in nature and on the beaches?
franceinfo: Can we walk everywhere along the sea? Can we walk everywhere in the forest, walk across fields? Questions that walkers are bound to ask themselves this summer?
Philippe Duport: And we’ll start with the coast. Because private beaches do exist. On the private parts, you can only go by paying a right of access, for example by renting a deckchair. But beware, there is, in law, an essential principle: you cannot privatize the strip of three meters of coastline. We cannot prevent people from passing, from walking on this three-meter strip. On a private beach, it may be forbidden to park in this area, that is to say, for example, to put down your towel there, but not to walk there, to walk there on foot. The privatization of the beach, moreover, can only concern a minority part of the beach.
There are, however, exceptions?
Yes, such as military grounds or airports, or if there is an important personality to protect there, access may be prohibited. But the owner of a house, located on the beach, will not be able to install barriers prohibiting access to the coast, on the three-meter passage strip. He would then be liable to a fine of 1,500 euros.
And in the forest?
You should know that more than three-quarters of the French forest is private. Can the owner prohibit access? In principle, yes, explains Me Pierrick Gardien, lawyer in public law at the bar of Lyon, but he will have to indicate it expressly, by signs or fences. So, in private forests, unless otherwise indicated, you can circulate, but be careful, staying on the trails, without degrading the environment. Nor will we be able to use, beyond reason, mushrooms, fruits, or even earth.
And the picnic, is it allowed?
Yes, if we stay on the edge of the trail, and we don’t damage the environment. It’s the same thing in private forests and in state forests for that matter.
And walking across fields, do we have the right?
No, a field is private property, although there may be a tolerance. You have to stay on the marked paths, and you cannot enter the fields, even if they are not fenced.