56 towns declared under a state of emergency state across 28 French departments (Official Journal)

A state of natural disaster has been declared in 56 municipalities across 28 departments, pursuant to a decree dated 10 July 2026, published in the Official Journal on 17 July.

According to data analysed by News Tank, damages were caused by:
• differential ground movement resulting from drought and soil rehydration in 28 cases;
• flooding and mudslides in 18 cases;
• land movements (excluding geotechnical drought) in 10 municipalities;
• and flooding caused by rising groundwater levels in the municipality of Lattes in the Hérault department.

It should be noted that the municipality of Saint-Caradec in the Côtes-d’Armor department was hit by two episodes of flooding and mudslides in January and February 2026.

Furthermore, the Nord department is the worst affected by these natural phenomena, with…