The Shoreline between Nature and Society, a Changing Heritage - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 211

imposed on the French coastline; it is a text that rightfully intends to
set a number of limits not to be surpassed in terms of the occupation
of the coastal space. This explains the reluctance observed toward the
law, as it was issued at the same time as decentralization entered an
active phase and the State was accused of taking over where the
locally elected were determined to make use of their new freedom.
The Coastal law is relatively short, with three titles and 42 articles
through which the philosophy transpires. The law cannot be mistaken
as guidelines for the global management of coastlines, as this will not
be issued until the beginning of the 19th Century with the
implementation in France of the integrated coastal zone management,
and the law on which it is based remains a reference point.
The law is very specific and similar to the law regarding mountains
voted by Parliament in January 1985. The first article identifies in the
coastlines “a geographical entity” that “requires specific policies […]
of public interest”. In addition to the particularity of coastal areas, the
objective is to manage it so that it is accessible to all the members of
the public and so that (although it does not appear clearly in the text) it
is considered as part of the National Heritage.
Apart from the order of the principles set, the law serves planning,
protection and enhancement purposes for coastlines and each reader
interpreted what he/she wanted from it. For example, the local
authorities read in it, at first, and similarly to most people, that
planning referred to the pursuit of coastal planning as a way of
perpetuating the development of tourist activities, albeit in a slightly
more regulated environment, which was probably perceived to be too
regulated in their eyes. The law can broadly be subdivided into two
parts. In the first part, the conditions of the “development” are
specified; whereas in the second part, the principles of effective
protection of the “characteristic” coastal environments and ecosystems
are highlighted but without specifying the limits to which the effort
will be carried out.
Title 1 is related to the planning and protection of coastlines. It is
the main and only title we will be discussing here. It adapts “some
provisions of the Planning Code”, i.e. the main objective of the law.