Obligatory garden clearance in France: New campaign clarifies who is impacted
New residents will be told of rules from January onwards
Residents risk a fine of up to €15,000 if they fail to clear their land properly
Vladimir Trynkalo / Shutterstock
A new government information campaign is set to launch to increase awareness of the mandatory clearing of undergrowth from gardens (débroussaillage) across France.
The campaign will officially begin next week (October 21) with the launch of a new government website – jedebroussaille.gouv.fr. The website is not currently live as of October 16.
Alongside this, an enhanced information campaign from the Ministry of Ecological Transition will run until mid-December to remind people of their obligation to clean up.
It is the second consecutive year such a campaign has been launched.
It will not see a change in the laws on clearing undergrowth, but seeks to remind people of the current rules in areas where it is mandatory, to reduce the damage from wildfires, particularly in forested areas.
However, from January 1 2025, new occupants of a property that are required to clear undergrowth will be informed of the requirements when they move in (including owners and renters).
Why is the information campaign being launched?
“90% of the houses destroyed or severely damaged during forest fires [in recent years] were located on land with little or no undergrowth clearance,” said Lionel Berthet of the French General Directorate for Risk Prevention at a press conference yesterday (October 15) announcing the changes.
A wet spring/summer and increased vigilance against wildfires means a little under 5,000 hectares of land succumbed to fires between June 1 and September 15 in France this year, according to the Sécurite civile.
However, the government wants to keep this figure down in subsequent years, when drier conditions are likely to resume.
Preventing the loss of life and destruction of property from ensuing summer wildfires can minimise the effects of the blazes, allowing firefighters to focus efforts on stopping blazes as quickly as possible, as opposed to evacuation efforts.
Properties located in an obligations légales de débroussaillement (OLD) zone have mandatory cleaning rules in place.
Over 7,000 communes are in an OLD zone, requiring owners to clean up their land, with these mostly located in the south (in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Corsica, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions).
You can see a map of the affected communes on the Geoportail website (type in débroussaillement for the specific map) or find out through your local mairie.
Generally, you must clear up the land between 50m - 100m around built-up property (houses, pools, sheds, etc).
Around woodland, this increases to 200m. The government is taking a particular focus on clearing up these tracts of land, after this year’s wildfires largely hit forested areas.
The period between October and February is most beneficial to clear undergrowth from gardens, with another clean up before summer begins, but it is recommended to keep on top of cleaning year-round.
Failure to effectively clear your land can see you fined up to €5,000, increased to €15,000 and a potential prison sentence if a fire breaks out nearby.
It is generally the responsibility of the landowner, and not tenant, to clean up, however this obligation can be passed on to the latter if stipulated in the rental contract.
You can read the full rules on cleaning garden growth in our two articles below.
Read more: Land clearance in France: rules, fines and tax credits for garden work
Read more: Explained: French garden rules on cleaning, bonfires, planting and more
