On the Place du Moulin-Fondu in Noisy-le-Sec, “NO 5G” posters put up by residents challenge passers-by. For several months, residents of the neighborhood have been fighting against the installation of a mobile telephone antenna from the operator Free which must be deployed on the roof of a three-storey building belonging to the social landlord Noisy-le-Sec Habitat . An HLM organization chaired by the mayor of the commune Olivier Sarrabeyrouse (PCF).
A meeting is scheduled for Thursday between the town hall, the landlord and a group of residents who had blocked preparatory work for the installation of the antenna on February 15.
“In July 2021, a neighbor discovered a poster stipulating the installation of an antenna at 9, place du Moulin-Fondu, says Céline, a resident of the district who lives 20 meters from the building in question. She wasn’t put away for long. We did not know if the project was serious, because nothing had been communicated to the inhabitants of the building. We still started to learn about 5G and the consequences it could have on health and we set up a collective. »
The mayor’s decree was challenged by the prefect
Marjorie, who lives on the top floor of the building in question, launched a petition with the inhabitants of the district: “We collected several hundred signatures. We are worried about the effects of the waves, we think that there is no need to have additional antennas on Noisy. It’s scandalous that we can install such equipment without asking the tenants for their opinion. »
If the antenna has not yet been installed, it already appears on the website of the National Frequency Agency, where it is specified that Free ― which has not answered our questions on this file ― will be able to deploy 3G, 4G or 5G.
In its latest study updated in February, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Anses) estimated that in “the state of knowledge”, it was “unlikely that the deployment of 5G entails new health risks, compared to previous generations of telephony”, adding that “it is necessary to continue the production of data”.
“ANSES does not say clearly that the antennas are 5G are dangerous or not, it says above all that more studies are needed, believes Céline. It is not prudent to install them. The town hall itself thinks so since it voted a moratorium on the issue. »
“When we arrived in 2020, 5G was a subject, confirms Olivier Sarrabeyrouse. We were in a situation of health crisis, so we were not able to organize real debates on the question, but we expressed a wish in the municipal council against the deployment of 5G in December 2020. This allowed us to discuss it within our majority, then I subsequently issued an order to the same effect which was challenged by the prefect two months later. He considered that it was not within my competence, that the deployment of 5G was in the general interest. We can only drag out the operators’ requests a little, but if we refuse to install an antenna, we risk penalties. »
Heavy penalties for breach of contract
The fact remains that the elected official keeps control of whether or not to deploy the antennas on the real estate of Noisy-le-Sec Habitat, of which the city is the majority shareholder. However, the contract with Free on this building was signed under the former UDI majority.
“The only valid reason for breaking this contract is the destruction of the building that houses the antenna, explains Max Manniez, the general manager of Noisy-le-Sec Habitat. Otherwise, the operator can go to court and according to my sources, the penalties can reach between 220,000 and 250,000 euros. »
The blockage of February 15 has already cost the lessor 22,000 euros. “Companies have not been able to do their job, but we will have to pay them”, underlines Max Manniez, who estimates that the antenna should bring in his company between 15,000 and 17,000 euros per year.
“Who will pay the costs that Noisy-le-Sec Habitat will have to pay if we don’t install this antenna? It is on the tenants that this will fall, ”laments the mayor, who believes that the collective has not taken the debate by the right end. “Blocking an antenna doesn’t really make sense, because it will be installed 100 meters away by other donors. What is needed is that they mobilize to bring this issue to parliamentarians, to the State. There, they place Noisy-le-Sec Habitat in financial difficulty when its situation is already very complicated ”.
“We, what we want is transparency, hammer Céline and Marjorie. Know how much this antenna will bring in, how much it would cost to terminate the contract. It may be a sum, but it is the health of the inhabitants that is in question. »
–
