Like every first Saturday of the month, around a hundred people gathered for the now traditional silage march. Since the construction of the Rance Dam, sediment has accumulated in the estuary and mud has blanketed the beaches. “The Rance is an estuary, not a mudflat” sang its inhabitants.
“This place, before, was the beach of Rennes, observes disappointed David Boixière, mayor of Pleudihen-sur-Rance. La Ville Ger is the first beach between Rennes and Saint-Malo, it used to be of fine sand. On Sundays there were sometimes thousands of people who came to swim, picnic, have fun… But that was before. Today there is no more sand. No one takes a bath anymore.”
Sophie Duquenne – Payne, Vice President of Rancio environment quickly pinpoint the culprit. The tidal power plant. “Since the construction of the dam the tides have been artificialised, the deadlock times are very long. This changed the current and, little by little, sediments began to settle in the Rance.”
“Whole areas are no longer accessible, the beaches are covered in mud and the channel is almost unusable, regrets a protester, my heart hurts.”
The walkers crossed the town of Ville es Nonais trying to make as much noise as possible in the utmost good humour. Everyone banged on cans, banged on pots and sounded sirens.
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“It must also be said that there is urgency explains Xavier Châtelet of the Envasés de la Rance collective. We are calling for a long-term de-land plan. The scientific council conducts endless research and lets the situation deteriorate. At the end of the Five-Year Plan in 2023 we will have spent 6 million euros for little, we will have done a lot of studies, a lot of university research, but the mud will not have moved! “
“Of the 250,000 tons that had to be removed, only 17,000 have been extracted, we are far from the objectives”, confirms Sophie Duquenne-Payne. And she worries: “It is a very heavy mud that kills all biodiversity. If this continues, we will soon have herbus, we will see a polderisation of the estuary and it will lose its maritime character. “
The mayors of the banks of the Rance met collectively. They too are calling for the establishment of a long-term management plan and are asking for its funding. Initially, EDF put its hand in the pocket, today it no longer wants to participate in the expenses up to 50%. ‘For us it’s a double jeopardy, our environment is silting up and we have to pay for it!’ outraged David Boixière.
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Everyone hopes that things change. Meanwhile the covered up have already made an appointment for next month!
