France to introduce tougher laws on squatting after retired couple’s Riviera holiday home taken over
France is to introduce tougher laws against squatting after a retired couple struggled to evict a family occupying their Riviera villa in a case that triggered public outrage.
The National Assembly on Wednesday debated a change in the law to speed up the removal of squatters, proposed by the party of President Emmanuel Macron.
The move was prompted by public sympathy for the plight of Henri and Marie-Thérèse Kaloustian, both 75. Their dream of a quiet retirement on the Mediterranean coast turned sour when a couple with two young children occupied their pink villa in the picturesque village of Théoule-sur-Mer, and changed the locks.
Local police refused to evict the squatters without a court order, reportedly telling the owners: “Sorry, squatters have all the rights.”
Under current French law, holiday homeowners have 48 hours after squatters move in to prove that the property belongs to them and that the intruders broke in.
After that, owners face a far lengthier legal procedure that can take months or even years. The procedure is longer and more complicated for second homes. If homeowners take the law into their own hands, they risk harsher sentences than squatters: up to three years in prison and a €30,000 (£27,000) fine. The penalty for squatting is €15,000.
Guillaume Kasbarian, an MP from Mr Macron’s governing LREM party, has tabled an amendment to the law to make it possible to evict squatters within a maximum of three days, provided homeowners file a legal complaint and prove the property belongs to them.
“The law should not prioritise squatters’ rights,” Mr Kasbarian said. “We are simplifying and clarifying the law to give homeowners the possibility of recovering their properties quickly, whether they are main or second homes.”
But squatters’ campaign groups oppose the change. “The fundamental problem is access to housing at an affordable price and this change in the law takes no account of the rights of the homeless,” said Jean-Baptiste Eyraud of the Right to Housing group.
The Kaloustians recovered their villa after a month, which was relatively fast by French standards, according to lawyers, who said the authorities acted because of media coverage. But the kitchen and furniture were badly damaged.
It emerged that the squatters owned a house in the Paris area, which they had left after a dispute with neighbours. Nevertheless, local authorities found alternative accommodation for the mother and her two children after the father was arrested for domestic violence.
