Beausoleil permit reignites fears over Monaco border landslide
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
Ten months after evacuations linked to the Charles-III school slope collapse risk, a contested building permit in Beausoleil has revived concern over ground stability on the Monaco border.
Ten months on from the evacuations triggered by fears of a slope collapse beneath the former Charles-III school in Monaco, French authorities say there has been no significant evolution of the landslide on the Beausoleil side of the border. That reassurance has done little to calm residents, however, after a building permit was granted, and is now being contested, on a parcel of land directly concerned by the ground movement.
The original evacuations followed structural concerns about the talus supporting the old college site, prompting months of monitoring and restricted access for residents living close to the affected slope. The border between Monaco and Beausoleil runs directly through the zone under watch, meaning any instability has consequences on both sides of the frontier, for French residents in Beausoleil as much as for the Principality.
The newly approved permit, covering a plot within the contested area, has become a flashpoint precisely because it touches ground that was until recently subject to evacuation orders. Residents and opponents of the project argue that building work so close to a slope still under geological observation is premature, regardless of official assurances that the situation has stabilised. For property owners on both sides of the border, the case is a reminder that the underlying ground risk has not been resolved, only paused, and that decisions taken now will shape confidence in the area for years to come.