The number of opponents to the establishment of Amazon in Fournès in the Gard continues to grow. Residents and residents of the town, local wine-growers or beekeepers struggling from the start, are now rallying elected officials such as Gard MPs Philippe Berta and Annie Chapelier or former Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen.
But there are also the “protectors” of the Pont du Gard located barely 9 kms away, such as Patrick Malavieille, the vice-president of the departmental council and president of the EPCI du Pont du Gard, as well as the landscaper Bertrand Folléa, the urban planner Patrick Bouchain or the lawyer Jacob Scherr.
Today, 20,000 signatories officially opposed this project “harmful” according to Patrick Fertil, the spokesperson for the ADERE association, the Association for the Defense of Employment with Respect for the Environment.
We will continue to mobilize to protect our jobs, protect the Pont du Gard site, and promote sustainable local alternatives.
A bill to stop the multiplication of warehouses
To protect local trade from unfair competition, the deputy of Deux Sèvres, Delphine Bartho, tabled Tuesday, June 2 a bill in the Assembly (therefore co-signed by Gard deputies Annie Chapelier and Philippe Berta), believing that it was an emergency measure.
“Closing for eight weeks (during confinement – Editor’s note) 86% of local shops resulted in an explosion in online sales, whose turnover increased by 83% in April 2020 and should greatly exceed 100 billion euros over the whole year . However, this growth is not equitably distributed. It has mainly benefited the largest platforms, and in particular the multinational Amazon. ” Extract from the bill presented to the National Assembly.
According to the deputy, the Amazon model would go against the investments of the State: 5 billion euros were spent in a program “Action heart of city” to preserve the vitality of the city centers.
Besides small commerce, Amazon would also be a danger for local e-commerce. The American giant would have engaged in a monopoly strategy on the French market. It already has around 20 storage warehouses in France, and plans to double its capacity by 2021, with 9 additional warehouses and sorting centers.
The “for” highlight employment and taxes
The figure is very variable, 600 jobs promised two years ago, 150 today, but enough to attract some elected officials. Thierry Boudinaud, recently elected mayor of Fournès and ex-assistant to town planning in the same town, sees it as useful tax revenue. Enough to build a new dining hall for the school, for example.
In Domazan, a municipality bordering to the east, Mayor Louis Donnet begins his second term. His speech remains intact: he fears that Amazon will settle in another community of municipalities, which will reap the benefits at the expense of that of Pont du Gard.
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Legal battle in progress
The administrative court of Nîmes has 11 appeals against the building permit of the American giant. A criminal complaint has also been filed concerning possible conflicts of interest in the sale of land to the developer Argan.
For the time being, work has been interrupted since the end of the archaeological excavations. They can only resume once all appeals have been processed. It would take another year or so to build the warehouses.
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