Collective ownership and communal areas: a response to contemporary challenges?

On October 21, 2022, the French Senate will be hosting a symposium on the “land commons” model, a historic social institution for managing rural territories that is now under threat. Under the patronage of Pierre Ouzoulias, Senator for Hauts-de-Seine, the event is organized in collaboration with the Antoine Favre law research center at Université Savoie Mont Blanc, a Labex ITTEM partner.

Common landholdings have existed in France for centuries. In rural areas, they are known as “communaux” or “propriétés collectives”, and take different forms in different regions, often in the mountains, where they have survived longer than elsewhere.

“Jean-François Joye, professor of public law at the Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB), explains: “At a time when we’re looking for solutions to territorial challenges – climate, food, energy, ecology and social issues – and in the light of new scientific research, the ‘commons’, long forgotten in favor of private property mechanisms, are once again a topical issue. As part of the Labex, he leads the Comon multidisciplinary research project on the subject, from which the documentary En commun! La propriété collective à l’épreuve de la modernité.

On October 6, he published an article in The Conversation entitled Territoires ruraux: et si on redécouvrait les vertus de la propriété collective? In it, he discusses the importance of preserving this heritage – which enables prudent management of natural resources as much as a ” philosophy of living in the territory ” – while adapting it to contemporary challenges. “Today, we can measure the positive effects of these systems in terms of the beauty of the landscapes shaped by man, or the presence of preserved biodiversity “, he writes, adding: “It ‘s in their articulation with public policies and players that we need to work “.

How can territorial policies take up the question of the land commons to envision the future? How can this model be adapted, and within what legal framework, to meet society’s current needs?

During the symposium – La relance des communs fonciers: quel encadrement législatif de la propriété collective et des “communaux” utile aux territoires? – twelve speakers will take the floor and answer questions from the audience. Jean-François Joye’s talk will be entitled : Reversing the trend. Taking care of collective landholdings: how can we achieve a reform that is useful to local communities? What kind of new “encounter” between the State and local authorities?

More information on the symposium on the USMB website

Registration required via this form

See the full program