Prévention des inondations en Europe : hydraulique, assurances, ou solidarité ?

Flood prevention in Europe: hydraulics, insurance or solidarity?

DR CNRS, LATTS-ENPC

Abstract

In developed countries, the Welfare State developed a flood control policy based on structural measures, which finally reached their own limits. This allowed in turn for a come back of liberal policies based on voluntary (and sometimes compulsory) insurance, which also have recently shown their limits. In Europe, in accorrdance with the general trend to consider water resources as a common property (i.e. with a status beyond the public vs private debate), what is sought is preventative action based on solidarity at the territorial level of the risk. What is at stoke is then the construction of community and subsitliary sharing of information to allow risk appropriation by those who face it.