Land use restraint in the Franco-Genevan region: MOT recommendations

December 2025

The attractiveness of the Geneva metropolitan area is putting multiple pressures on neighbouring French communities, which are facing increased demand for housing, rising land and property prices, and a greater need for public facilities and transport infrastructure, while meeting the Zero Net Artificialisation (ZAN) targets set out in the 2021 Climate and Resilience Act and included in local planning documents.

From June to December 2025, the MOT carried out a study on behalf of the Banque des Territoires and in partnership with Annemasse Agglo, focusing on the impact of land use restraint policies in the Franco-Genevan cross-border area.

Goals of the study

Divided into three phases (operational diagnosis, benchmarking and recommendations), the study aims to understand the regulatory frameworks for land use restraint on both sides of the border, to put them into perspective with the unbalanced demographic and economic dynamics that characterise this cross-border territory, and to devise possible solutions or draw inspiration from examples from other borders that could be applied here, particularly in the Etoile Concerted Development Zone (ZAC Etoile) and the Mont-Blanc Economic Activity Zone (ZAE).

A workshop in Annemasse

A workshop was held on 16 October 2025 in Annemasse to bring together the relevant technical stakeholders on both sides of the border and agree on a common diagnosis, before discussing potential avenues for cooperation. These included:

Strengthening the operationality of cross-border objectives in the most local planning documents
Bringing together the operational services dealing with development, land and housing within a working group in order to strengthen mutual understanding between public and private structures on both sides of the border
Conducting an initial experiment in cross-border land cooperation through a pilot project offering concrete benefits for both sides

This study informed the discussions ahead of the seminar on ‘Housing and residential pathways in Greater Geneva’ organised by the GLCT on 9 December 2025 (more info).