FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
PARIS – The mayor of Châteauneuf de Grasse, one of the prettiest villages in inland France, a half-hour drive from the sea on the Côte d’Azur, is protesting against “the big five” who he says are frustrating with their huge mansions the efforts of the Villagers to conserve water in these times of drought: among them former King of Belgium Albert II, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, a few Scandinavian billionaires and the Berlusconi family.
According to figures reported by Mayor Emmanuel Delmotte and quoted in the Libération and Nice Matin polls, the Big Five would use 2,000 cubic meters of water per week, “while the national average is 120 cubic meters per year for a couple, and Châteauneuf we are already at 360 cubic meters per year because swimming pools are so widespread. At the municipal level we are making every possible effort, we have closed the wells and no longer water the city garden during the day, but in shifts at night so that the children can continue to eat fresh vegetables in the school canteen. But given the water consumption of the large villas, our commitment becomes useless».
Fines of 1,500 to 3,000 euros would have no deterrent effect on such assets, says the mayor. Large estates have large parks and swimming pools that require an enormous amount of water to be used behind the walls, gates and rows of trees that protect the villas from outside views.
The theme of water in the villas of the Côte d’Azur takes up an issue that has become crucial in recent months, namely the mismatch between the consumption of the richest compared to the average citizen. When the French government introduced “energy sobriety” measures in post-war Ukraine to cut consumption and bills, many protested, citing the billionaires’ private jets and the tons of kerosene that were burned in minutes. Likewise, the mayor of Châteauneuf de Grasse points out how difficult it is to ask citizens not to wash their cars or water the plants on the balcony or in the small garden when thousands of cubic meters in the megavillas have been used up.
Mayor Emmanuel Delmotte now hopes to sensitize the five owners of the largest villas so that together they can find a way to ensure the maintenance of the villas and a more respectful use of water. Last year, similar tensions erupted between residents of Callian and the vast estate of a Qatari dignitary. “We are not completely powerless, we can always reduce the water pressure – says the mayor of Callian, François Cavallier –. But we don’t want to fight big business either, because the current system is based on hyperconsumption, which we can’t suddenly demonize.” On the one hand there is the problem of the unequal treatment of billionaires and ordinary citizens, on the other hand there has never been a dispute, at least so far, because large mansions are a financial blessing for small towns, also because of their rich bills for water consumption.