The Sainte-Victoire mountain is only about fifteen kilometers as the crow flies from the wind turbines.
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Marc-Antoine Chavanis
About twenty wind turbines have been installed in Haut-Var, about fifteen kilometers from the Sainte-Victoire mountain.
A petition, sponsored by Stéphane Bern has been launched on the Internet against this project.
According to its detractors, this site concentrates all the criticisms against wind power: damage to the landscape, creation of a "call for air", and legal battle.
About twenty wind turbines and at least as many reviews.
The Provencialis company operates 22 wind turbines 125 meters high in the towns of Artigues and Ollières, in the Haut-Var.
Giants accused of disfiguring this Provençal landscape with in the background the Sainte-Victoire so dear to Cézanne.
Behind these ecological issues also lies a legal battle.
Explanations.
Damage to landscapes and biodiversity
The 22 wind turbines were installed in the municipalities of Artigues and Ollières, about fifteen kilometers as the crow flies from the Sainte-Victoire mountain.
“These are emblematic landscapes, among the most famous in France even if it is not the side painted by Cézanne.
And to install them, we had to dig tracks, break the rock which has consequences on biodiversity, ”points out Julien Lacaze, president of the Sites and Monuments association.
The wind farm built in the towns of Artigues and Ollières, near the Sainte-Victoire mountain.
- Marc-Antoine Chavanis
Marc-Antoine Chavanis, local correspondent of the association, points to the Grenelle of the environment and the blue and green framework.
“There is an imperative to respect the reservoirs of biodiversity and the communications between these reservoirs by corridors.
However, this site is on the edge of the large Sainte-Victoire site in an area classified natura 2000. When you go to the Sainte-Victoire website, it welcomes the classification of this area for 15 years, while they have pasted wind turbines in a classified site which is also a corridor.
It's unbelievable, ”he criticizes.
A petition against this project has been launched online, it is notably sponsored by Stéphane Bern who spoke against the installation of these wind turbines.
A project that could call for others
The latest multiannual energy program (PPE) provides for the installation of 6,500 new wind turbines in France by 2028. This raises fears of the multiplication of this kind of installations in Julien Lacaze.
“At the beginning of wind power, these machines were installed in landscapes with lesser interests, industrialized.
To double the number of wind turbines, space will be needed.
And it is now the turn of the others, as in the Var where there were none.
We will inevitably touch more and more emblematic landscapes, ”he fears.
“We come to install these monsters in the Haut Var where there is less pressure on land.
They have no qualms about installing them in these landscapes, saying to themselves "anyway, it's the far west there are only Indians".
There is a diagonal gap between Aix and Grasse, so that's where we will stick all the wind turbines, ”regrets Marc-Antoine Chavanis.
A legal battle
Provencialis obtained a first environmental authorization for the installation of these wind turbines.
An authorization finally canceled in February 2020 by the administrative court of Toulon.
"But the promoter continued the work throughout the duration of the confinement to pass in force.
There was even one death in March, a worker was crushed under a reel, ”denounces Marc-Antoine Chavanis who photographed the site during his pursuit.
The installation work continued despite the lack of environmental authorization.
- Marc-Antoine Chavanis
It was finally the prefect of Var who signed an order authorizing the installation and operation to continue for one year.
A decree taken in May 2020, four months after the decision of the Toulon court.
“It's a political misunderstanding.
There is a decision of the State which goes against that of justice ”, protests Marc-Antoine Chavanis.
Contacted about this decree, the Var prefecture only provided historical information on these authorizations.
The order of the prefect attacked in court
The industrialist has since appealed against the decision of the Toulon administrative court, a judgment which should take place in the coming weeks.
But Arnaud Fauquet Lemaitre, mayor of Ollières, decided to attack the prefect's decree.
“We are not against the ecological transition, quite the contrary since we already have 120 hectares of photovoltaic panels.
But if we do things, let's do them properly.
The prefect does not have to ratify the illegal installation of these wind turbines.
In his decree he asserts the general interest.
Except that these are only private interests, they are built on private land, by a private operator.
It is not up to the community to pay the price for a company that has done its job poorly, ”he said.
Above all, he has the unfortunate impression of being "the turkey of the farce" in this story.
“The department and the agglomeration community capture 80% of the tax, and in the event of dismantling, the municipality will have to pay if the owner of the land is unable to do so.
And of course, it is the prefecture which gives the authorizations and as the State pushes for the transition.
It's a fool's bargain, ”he denounces.
The Marseille administrative court of appeal must rule on Arnaud Fauquet Lemaitre's request and Provencialis must obtain an environmental authorization by the end of May.
In the event of non-authorization, the wind turbines could be dismantled, a unique case in France.
The Provencialis company has remained unreachable.
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