Nudist colony stripped French village bare

EUROPE’S largest nudist camp received €9million ( £ 7.8million) in unfair subsidies that have contributed to the demise of a nearby French village, the area’s mayor has complained.

Florence Legrand, mayor of Grayan-et-l’hôpital, a seaside settlement near Bordeaux in the south-west, has filed a legal complaint for “bribery” against her predecessors for allegedly handing the perks to Euronat, a vast nudist colony located in pine dunes near the town.

Though the camp, founded in 1975, has flourished, the village has struggled, she said. Euronat, a sprawling camp that occupies 830 acres, has 28 stores and caters for some 15,000 guests in summer.

However, only two shops and restaurants remain open in the village after five businesses closed in the past decade, and villagers reportedly have to shop in the camp for want of alternatives.

“You have to want to see people stark naked,” one woman told Le Parisien, adding that at least they were “allowed to keep [their] clothes on” as they shopped.

Ms Legrand has accused successive mayors – the area had been under the same political banner for 75 years until she broke the mould last year – of giving the camp a string of subsidies.

It pays annual rent to the town of €550,000 – almost half Ms Legrand’s administration’s estimated going rate of €917,000, with the town hall levying “fake charges” to boost its income, she alleged.

The town should have been paid €20.5million since 1975 but received only €14.5 million, she said. “These are sums that were … for the development of the town,” she added. She also questioned why the former mayor had inexplicably extended Euronat’s lease from 70 years to 99 years.

Bordeaux’s prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into public officials for illegally granting “an exemption or deduction” of duties, and public taxes. The charge carries a maximum five-year jail term and a €500,000 fine.

Grayan’s lawyers hope the inquiry will “determine how and why a private company benefited from such largesse … to the detriment of citizens”.

Jean-michel Lorefice, Euronat’s director, denies wrongdoing and has filed for charges of slander, as has the town’s former mayor, who also denies wrongdoing.