ICCA Consortium

On November 3, 2026, the French Senate begins debating Law Proposal 782, which seeks to dissolve more than 30,000 sections de commune, territories that Local Communities in France have governed since at least the Middle Ages

First published on 11/02/2026

Photos by C. Matthes, A. Dubois, G. Walters, E. Soudan, S. Lawrence

Livestock are moved between pastures on Col de Supeyres in the Massif Central in France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. *Sections de commune* are territories where resident farmers have priority access to local pastures and maintain traditional pastoralist practices.

Fourme d’Ambert cheese at a local farm at the Col de Supeyres. Livestock grazing on biodiverse, natural prairies supports the production of culturally important foods.

A peat bog in Chanaleilles, a recognized Natura 2000 biodiversity site in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Some conserved areas and old-growth forests in *sections de commune* have been managed since at least the 1600s.

Women train in logging in the section de commune of Miaunein the Massif Central. Members of *sections de commune* volunteer hundreds of hours per year managing forests, waters, and pastures.

Community members organize the drawing of lots for firewood allotments from community woods, to ensure sustainable management and use of natural resources in the forest of the *section de commune* of Miaune.

Apples are pressed into juice and cider at the *Fête des Couleurs et Délices d’Automne* (the Festival of Autumn Colors and Delights) in Mourex, proceeds from which finance projects in their section de commune. *Sections de commune* help to strengthen community resilience, heritage, and cultural identity.

Sections de commune give Local Communities in France a say in how their forests, pastures, and waters are managed, and they protect biodiversity at no cost to the state. Law Proposal 782, which the French Senate will begin debating on November 3^rd, would hand these lands to municipalities, where they could be built on, sold, or converted to industrial agriculture and forestry projects. More than 30,000 communities are at risk of being dispossessed of their land.

Read the full ICCA Consortium Alert and press release, and sign on to the international letter of support and solidarity to protect sections de commune.