TRAVELLER FOLK: UNAUTHORIZED CAMPS AND TRENCH WARFARE IN THE HILLS OF PROVENCE | M6 | 66 minutes

It might look like a Paradisiacal setting as presented by Marcel Pagnol, lulled by the chirping of cicadas. Several miles south of Aix-en-Provence lies the designated natural park of La Mérindole. However, last autumn this Provencal garden of Eden was turned upside down.  Dump trucks, diggers and earth-moving equipment. 6,600 m² of agricultural land, not eligible for construction, were turned into camps hooked up to water and electricity services. In the Aix region, this is far from being an isolated case. Unofficial building, unauthorized occupation of land. They number at least a dozen examples. Cohabitation with the neighbours is becoming increasingly strained. Because, for each case, there is the fear of houses losing value. What answers can the local authorities provide? An investigation into the trench warfare in the Provencal hills.