Contenu du sommaire

Problems associated with transalpine traffic have made it possible to incorporate ecological concerns into European transport policy. These concerns are expressed differently in the « Transport » Protocol of the Alpine Convention, which probihits the construction of new transalpine motorways, and in European Union law, due to the exemption regime applicable to transit in Austria (ecopoints System) and the bilateral agreements concluded with Switzerland. However, these different categories of international rules combine to promote a transport policy that is more environmentally sensitive, namely the transport ofgoods by rail and combined transport Systems (variations of road-rail) as well as the development of a System of equitable road pricing.

The judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal in Rennes on 13 February 2002, in the case of the shipwreck of the Erika, shows up the inadequacy of a légal framework that does not provide for reparation of damage incurred as a result of accidentai oil pollution. Even though the Court of Appeal held that the application of the Polluter Pays principle could make it possible to complément the international compensation mechanism for victims of pollution, it did not go so far as to provide victims with adequate compensation for their losses by drawing on traditional mechanisms of civil (tortious) liability. The Courts interpretation of Articles 1382 and 1384 paragraph 1 of the Civil Code shows none of the flexibility that a general interpretation of these provisions would support. Given extensive stretching of conditions for civil (tortious) liability, under way in 1896 just as much as in 1991, judges are now able to provide a remedy for major social impacts that result from serious and sometimes irreversible damage caused by the person or entity undertaking risk activities, namely the polluter.

Until now, tourism planning has been little studied in its own right and the substantive provisions of French law do not really cater for its specificity, compared to general planning and environmental law. Although coastal legislation contains some elements specific to France's overseas departements, it does not make significant advances even if it does in places recognise the problems involved. Starting from the basic principles and framework for tourism planning in the coastal zone, within their formal global context, the article looks at the situation of the furthest French dependencies, taking Guadeloupe as an example. Here, the analysis reveals a gap between the law and actual practice. Because of a very specific context, legal rules are in fact often marginalised and their effectiveness undermined. This demonstrates the limits to the authority of both planning and environmental law and thus of the legal rules which they lay down.