On the safeguarding of sites and historic cities: a study on the evolution of French legal system

France has classically been tied to the idea of protection of cultural heritage, so much so that the birth of the concept of European cultural heritage can be traced back to its 19th-century vision of patrimoine. In addition, it has developed, over time, a regulatory apparatus of the most complete, especially in relation to protected areas. From the law of 1913 on historic monuments to that on natural sites of 1930, from the extension of protection to the surroundings of monuments introduced in 1943 to the creation in 1962 of secteurs sauvegardés and then of the zones de protection du patrimoine architectural urbain et paysager (today AVAP), France has been able to organize a legal system of proven effectiveness. In a spirit of a necessary conceptual and operational maturation, with the new Loi Patrimoine, France intends today to reorganize the field, according to a comprehensive and integrated approach, founded on the knowledge, communication and shared decision making, really aimed at the transmission of heritage to future generations. The primary objective is to meet the new demands posed by a sustainable development of the territory while responding to essential questions: why do we need to safeguard? How to reconcile conservation and innovation? Which are the economic, social and cultural benefits that may result from a conscious and conscientious exploitation of cultural heritage?