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“We can consider demolishing the Signal in Soulac after the summer season”

It has become in recent years the symbol of the threat of coastal erosion. And it could soon disappear from the landscape. The demolition of the Le Signal building in Soulac-sur-Mer (Gironde) is finally being considered. Asked by 20 Minutes, Frédéric Boudeau, director of the Médoc Atlantique community of municipalities, hopes to be able to initiate the
demolition procedure after the summer season, even if he does not risk announcing a firm and definitive date either.

The Le Signal building in Soulac-sur-Mer (Gironde) in August 2015 – M.Bosredon / 20Minutes

It is therefore the imminent end of a legal soap opera started in January 2014, when an order to evacuate the building had been pronounced in the face of the threat of erosion. Erected in the 1960s 200 m from the shore, the building with 78 apartments was no longer separated by more than twenty meters from the ocean.

Over the course of litigation, in particular against the community of municipalities, and endless procedures, an envelope of seven million euros was finally released in 2020 to compensate the co-owners. It took the intervention of parliamentarians, in this case Senator Françoise Cartron and Deputy Benoît Simian, to unblock a situation then at an impasse.

The community of municipalities is now waiting for the very last files to be settled, before recovering full ownership of the building, and starting the demolition which should cost around €350,000. Frédéric Boudeau answered our questions.

Where are we on the compensation of the co-owners of Signal?

We have made progress since we only have six cases left to settle, which relate to seven apartments. This means that to date, 71 apartments out of 78 have been recovered. We would like to finish all the legal operations in March, to then initiate the procedures for a demolition, because the skeleton of the building is in disrepair.

Does demolition before the end of the year seem possible to you, or are you remaining cautious?

I am necessarily cautious because there are data that I do not control, since it will be necessary to obtain prior authorization to demolish, launch a project manager, award the contract… That said, we can reasonably consider a demolition schedule which would be after the summer season; before, it seems to us very difficult to do. Now, will it be before the end of the year, we can’t commit to it…

Is the asbestos removal finished?

The asbestos removal was done by the State services, there may still be some places, at the level of connections and pipes, to be treated, but these will be very small quantities to be evacuated.

How long do you expect for the demolition?

I can’t comment on a timeframe, but I don’t think the demolition will take very long, as these are prefabricated elements. It will depend among other things on the technique that will be chosen, even if I think that the building will be demolished by trimming, and not with a ball or with the use of explosives.

It’s the end of a long legal soap opera…

This is a file that has been the subject of numerous disputes and which has resulted in a legal finding of blocking, since there was no compensation mechanism provided for this case. The legislator therefore had to intervene to exceptionally release compensation. In the end, it will have taken between seven and eight years to settle it, which may seem long, but which is not necessarily so given the problem. And, what we are discovering is that Soulac is not an isolated case. Other cities could soon be concerned, on the whole of the French coast. The problem goes far beyond the local framework, and there may be other operations like that of the Signal in the future.

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