French Village’s €1 Land Sale Attracts Global Interest, Including Morocco

Faced with the threat of closing a class in its school, the commune of Berrien had decided to sell ten serviced and buildable plots (800 m² on average) at 1 € per m² instead of 9.50 €, reports Le Télégramme. "This announcement immediately went viral, recalls the current mayor of Berrien, Hubert Le Lann. We received 4,000 calls, from France, but also from the Philippines, the United States, Morocco... We also welcomed television stations from around the world, including Al Jazeera".

The initiative was a success. The transfer of seven plots was effective. The buyers? Bretons, residents of the Paris region, Troyes (Aube) and Vaucluse. Already three houses built. "The real estate operation is therefore positive, assures Hubert Le Lann. The threatened class closure has been saved and we are taking advantage of it to modernize it and improve the reception of digital technology there".

The three remaining plots have not yet found buyers. The mayor of Berrien tries to explain the reasons "[...] People bought land hoping to find work in the region, but they didn’t. They therefore left after reselling their land to the town hall. And then, too often, people are afraid of having to live in the housing estate where the land is sold at 1 € per m², when this is not at all the case. There are fields around, the owners can have animals, there is a regulation..."