Further information

Note concerning the Island Saint Honorat – Lérins, Monday 7th of July 2003 - Brother M. Vladimir GAUDRAT (Notre Dame de Lérins’ Abbey)

The Island Saint Honorat is the smallest of two islands composing the archipelago of Lérins in the bay of Cannes. It is the property of the Cistercian Congregation of the Immaculate Conception accepted by decree of the Prime Minister the 12.06.1930. It is a site listed by ministerial order the 17.09.1941 concerning the foundations of the May 2nd 1930 law. The Island covers 42 hectares of which 18 hectares of buildings and agricultural lands and 22 hectares of forest and natural periphery. The 2 islands of Lérins are the only littoral areas of the Alpes-Maritimes offering a continuity between the land natural environment and the sea without communication route or construction. It is also the only private domain of this dimension open to public.

The forest and nature areas are in collaboration under the management of the ONF financed by the tax on the maritime passengers embarked to protected natural sites (1995 law). Concerning fauna, there is a great number of bird species. According to the “ZNIEFF” 02200 inventory drawn up, the variety of these species are mainly passerines but also crows and predatory birds (black crows, jackdaws, falcons, tits, warblers, Verdiers, woodpeckers, Petit duc owl, hoopoes, nightingales…). Most of these areas are open to visitors (around half of the territory : approximately 11 hectares). The natural surroundings is as limited as it is fragile.

A monastic community has been present on the island, for the last 16 centuries, with an interruption during the French revolution. This long monastic history as well as the military one of this strategic site, have left many buildings on the island, some of which are listed historical monuments (fortified monastery, 2 chapels, cannonball ovens).
Alongside with its praying mission which is its essential purpose, the community welcomes a large number of people in need of silence and spirituality. About 40 people can be greeted. In order to preserve the guests’ contemplation, there are places kept for them only. Many come just for a day of prayer and silence. To provide for its needs, the community has a 7 hectares vineyard and is planning on starting the production the 400 olive trees of the island again. The community is one of the 3 farmers of Cannes district and applies an environment-friendly agriculture (use of sexual confusion technique for the vine worm…)

To operate sea service on the island, the congregation, as landowners, has been granted, since the 19th century, a temporary occupation authorisation for the construction and use of landing stages with permission of renting (under-renting ?) these to a private transport company. The monks had concluded renting contracts with 2 companies, one located in Cannes, the other in Golfe-Juan and this system had functioned in a relatively satisfying way until 1975. The n° 79-518 decree of June 29th 1979, having enacted new rules concerning the occupation of the public maritime domain, has substituted the 30 years concessions to the AOT, the last one expired December 31st 1982 was not renewed. After various administrative inquiries including a public investigation, the Abbey was granted the thirty years concession of the landing stages on the island by order on August 24th 1989. This concession was granted for the general benefit of the sea service on the Island Saint-Honorat and of the monastic character of the site and is “exclusively personal and the concessionary (holder) cannot allow occupation or use without the conceder’s agreement”. At this time, the presence of various shipping companies in Cannes and a true sea-battle between them led to an unmanageable situation and an increase of the island’s frequentation (about 200 000 people per year) incompatible at long term with its monastic vocation.
The Abbey first tried signing 2 conventions of treaty with 2 boating companies but they weren’t approved by the Prefectoral authorities. The Abbey has then decided in agreement with the Prefectoral authorities to serve the island of which it is proprietor, directly through an EURL (Planaria) with whom only the Congregation is associated. Not wanting any profit from this business, the Abbey has decided to charter boats from the shipping companies in Cannes and assure itself the ticket counter for a better control of the situation. Finally, only one of the companies working on Cannes’ harbour accepted to work with us. This solution has been functioning for 4 years, although the many and sometimes violent local pressures, assuring transport in good condition and maintaining a reasonable frequentation of the island (80 000 people/year). Later the community had to totally rebuild at its own cost a landing stage according to security standards.
In a decision taken April 15th 2003 by the administrative Court of Nice, confirming the convention of concession to the congregation, has invalidated the Prefect’s letter, considering it as containing implicit decisions. These letters enjoined the companies not to use the landing stages anymore. The reasons put forward is the need of a competitive transport service to the island, even if the court recognizes that the concession “has for object to entrust the concessionary holder the eventual organisation of transport to the island”. Since that date, the community is victim of considerable pressure to let all the boats of all companies the possibility to land on the island, whatever time and origin, most probably leading to an incontrollable and unbearable situation, both for the community and the environment. The State and the congregation appealed against the decision at the Administrative Court of Appeal of Marseille. There is a legal problem of administrative law and in medium term, a problem of protecting a very particular environment.
The community fears that in such a peculiar local context, it will be in actual practice or in law, dispossessed of all control of what could take place on the island, which would be at long term, incompatible with its presence on the island.