Hi to all,
We have recently found out that our home is going to be compulsory purchased by the state.Anyone out there got any advice on protocol in France? We received a scrappy hand-written note by the Publique Foncier to advise us to make a RDV.We did this and were told that if we did not go the"aimiable path" they would buy us anyway and for much less that the market value. Is this the way it works in France or have we got any rights? This has been our family home for 25 years where we have worked and raised our kids here.Their offer is much less than we need to buy something similar to what we have and we are not living in a grand villa but an average family home.In addition to this, we are not so young and do not know how we can afford to buy something as convenient to town as we have now. All advice would be welcome.
I’m not understanding why the government would force the sale of your house without telling you why. If there was some public reason like a highway going through your property, it should be stated. I would contact a Notaire to have him investigate it and fight it through legal channels.
Have you got any further down the line with this problem? We are all hoping it is some from of scam or bad joke,as it sounded so unlike the normal mound of paperwork you get with anything official in France.
I have just added a page for this in the FAB group here for documents such as this. Thanks for the idea 
Good idea!
I agree with Ken, there are some subjects that are so vital to know that perhaps could be included in a library feature.
Perhap’s Ricky’s link could be copied somewhere else on the site for others to refer to at a later time? The information here seems so important that it should not simply be left in a continuing thread?
I agree with a number of the comments on this thread - it sounds dodgy indeed. As far as I can glean, French law on compulsory acquisition has not changed much since Napoleonic times and it is now subject to the European Convention on Human Rights. The state can acquire in the public interest but only after due process, the first part being administrative i.e. serving you with paperwork, and the second part being in the nature of an enquiry so that you can state your case. See this paper for some re-assurance (page 4 in particular) Paris Paper on French Compulsory Purchase
I agree with James, contact Guillaume a bilingual lawyer for advice.
There is obvious concern here about the scrappy handwritten note, but the OP seems to imply that they held the RDV. So perhaps another question should be:- ‘where was the meeting held, who was present, were contemporaneous minutes taken, and distributed, and what time scale was put on the compulsory purchase?’
Just be careful that it is not some ploy by the local sollicitor or the mairie who want to buy your house for their private use. Or to construct some business or super market. Stranger things have happened in French real estate. Ask the Mairie about the zoning plans - ‘occupation des sols’ I think it is called. It is a big map on which all the plots have been marked.
this does not sound right,normally everything is sent reccommande and i would have thought the marie would also contact you.what are they compulsory purchasing for? i would check at the maries office.good luck
Talk to the mairie. They will know. Have your neighbours had the same note? Are there plans for a motorway, railway line, other major public projects which could affect you? Agree with others that a notice of expropriation would come in an official printed letter, probably by registered mail.
I agree with Jane and Sheila, this sounds very odd, post in FAB, this sort of info should come by recorded delivery, sounds like it could be a hoax…
Is a scrappy hand-written note legal procedure? Surely they must be able to have a copy for the records? Is anyone else affected by this compulsory purchase? What does your Mairie have to say?
Is a scrappy hand-written note sufficient legal procedure? Are you the only ones affected?
What does the Mairie have to say?
Gosh, Tara, that is an awful situation to be in. I wish I could help but my legal experience is back home in Ireland, and no use here. Did you post in Friendly Advice Bureau here on SFN? I’m sure you would get some good feedback. Fingers crossed for you. Sheila