Natural disaster: 156 findings and 137 rejections published…

The Ministry of the Interior published an order dated October 16 in the Official Journal of October 23, 2026, recognizing the state of natural disaster in 156 cases and dismissing 137 municipal requests. Published under reference NOR INTE2627286A in JORF No. 0248, the text mandates the opening of the right to insurance guarantees and the applicable deductible scale.

Two annexes with opposite effects

Issued in application of the insurance code, the order examines damage caused by six families of phenomena: mechanical wave impact, floods and mudslides, avalanches, landslides, cyclonic winds, and differential ground movements resulting from drought and soil rehydration. Annex I lists the municipalities where the state of natural disaster has been established, including the phenomenon, the start and end dates of the period, and the number of previous recognitions; Annex II lists the rejected requests, supported by the reason for refusal.

This measure is part of a regular production: the previous order, signed on September 11, 2026 (NOR INTE2623922A), was published in JORF No. 0221 on September 22, 2026.

The Gard and Hérault episode of late September

The intensity wave at the end of September accounts for the majority of the recognitions: 70 findings open on September 29, 2026, and close on October 1, motivated by cumulative precipitation with a return period exceeding 10 years.

Gard: Aubais, Calvisson, Quissac, Sauve, Sommières, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, Saint-Laurent-d’Aigouze, Tornac, Vauvert, Congénies (starting September 30).
Hérault: Montpellier, Castelnau-le-Lez, Lunel, Lattes, Pérols, Juvignac, Saint-Jean-de-Védas, Vendargues, Vic-la-Gardiole, Villetelle.
Other recognized episodes: Marseille (July 25, 2026), Rognac (August 21, 2026), and Bandol (July 25, 2026), in Bouches-du-Rhône and Var.

2025 Drought: 28 recognitions for 94 refusals

Files concerning differential ground movements for the year 2025 (period from January 1 to December 31, 2025) represent 122 findings or rejections. The analysis follows circular No. IOME2322937C of April 29, 2024: the geotechnical criterion assumes the presence of sensitive clays in more than 3% of the municipal territory, and the meteorological criterion assumes a soil moisture index with a return period exceeding 10 years or an abnormal episode in a neighboring municipality.

Recognized: Barzy-en-Thiérache (Aisne), Valsemé (Calvados), Allanche (Cantal), Arcomps and Gron (Cher), Berrac, Labarthe, Lagarde, Ornézan and Saint-Mézard (Gers), Camarsac and Saint-Jean-de-Blaignac (Gironde), Aix-Noulette, Dourges and Leforest (Pas-de-Calais).
Rejected: Ozan (Ain), Vouzan (Charente), Cerbois (Cher), Longvic and Nuits-Saint-Georges (Côte-d’Or), Bondy and Noisy-le-Sec (Seine-Saint-Denis), Courtry and Lésigny (Seine-et-Marne), Barjols (Var), Flassan (Vaucluse), Plottes and Saint-Germain-lès-Buxy (Saône-et-Loire, for 2024 as well as 2025).

Waves, avalanches, winds and ground movements

Mechanical shock of waves: La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), from February 11 to 19, 2026.
Avalanche: Allemond (Isère), February 20, 2026.
Recognized ground movements: Gars (Alpes-Maritimes), Mounes-Prohencoux (Aveyron), Perelli and Poggio-di-Nazza (Haute-Corse), Manneville-sur-Risle (Eure), Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais).
Rejected cyclonic winds: Oberhoffen-lès-Wissembourg (Bas-Rhin), Bougainville (Somme), Lourmarin and Roussillon (Vaucluse), due to the absence of a tropical cyclonic event and winds reaching an average of 145 km/h over ten minutes or 215 km/h in gusts, the decree referring to the “storm” guarantee of property damage contracts.
Storms of August 27, 2026 in Île-de-France: rejections in Alfortville, Maisons-Alfort, Ivry-sur-Seine, Villejuif, Chevilly-Larue, Bry-sur-Marne and L’Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne), Neuilly-Plaisance (Seine-Saint-Denis) and Massy (Essonne), cumulative totals less than ten years.
Miscellaneous reasons: Pralognan-la-Vanoise (Savoie), phenomenon not observed within the municipal territory; Meulan-en-Yvelines (Yvelines), predominant anthropogenic factors.

Modulated deductible and means of appeal

Article 3 modulates the deductible according to the number of findings occurred for the same risk during the five years preceding the signature of October 16, 2026, under the conditions of articles L. 125-2 and D. 125-5-9 of the insurance code. This number appears in Annex I and includes the present finding: Bandol has a total of three, Néret (Indre) two.

Article 4 opens an administrative appeal under the conditions of articles L. 411-1 et seq. of the code of relations between the public and the administration and article D. 125-1-2 of the insurance code. Municipalities may refer the matter to the administrative court within two months of notification, other interested parties within two months of publication; expert reports are communicable under article D. 125-1-1, and municipalities that have submitted their file online can access them via the iCatNat application.

For the victims in the concerned territories, the publication starts the contestation period and sets the deductible scale applicable to insurers; for the municipalities in Annex II, it conversely closes the path to compensation for the periods concerned.

Source: decree of October 16, 2026, recognizing the state of natural disaster, NOR INTE2627286A, JORF No. 0248 of October 23, 2026.