Can a mayor limit the use of pesticides in his commune? That's the whole question that's being put to justice these days. The administrative court in Rouen will soon examine a bylaw limiting the use of pesticides in Saint-Eloi-de-Fourques, Eure, was learned Friday from the prefecture. The day before, the mayor of Langouët (Ille-et-Vilaine) was appearing in a similar case before the Administrative Court of Rennes, which should decide in the coming days.
The prefecture believes that the mayor is incompetent in the matter
The court of Rouen "was seized by the prefect on July 19 on the basis of incompetence of the mayor" in terms of the use of pesticides, told AFP the press service of the prefecture of Eure, confirming an information from France Bleu Seine-Maritime-Eure. The investigation will be closed on August 27 and the judges of Rouen should examine the decree in the weeks that follow.
According to this decree dated 24 June, "the spraying of phytosanitary products - or pesticides - and the spreading of chemical or livestock nitrates are prohibited on the territory of the commune on a strip of 2 meters long of the paved roads from the edge of the public domain, for cultivated plots with no "soft hydraulic" (ditches, hedges), said the decree published on the website France Bleu. And the mayor, Denis Szalkowski (without label) to justify himself: "I am competent for the police of the water, but in the statements which were communicated to me by our syndicate in charge of our distribution of the water, nitrates and pesticides in raw water (groundwater) were above the thresholds of potability, or tending towards these thresholds of toxicity. "
The main support of Emmanuel Macron
He and the other mayors having made similar orders, which are about twenty in France, received the "support" of Emmanuel Macron Friday. In an interview with Konbini, the president, who says he has "very profoundly changed" on ecological issues, has ensured support the city officials "in [their] intentions", while recalling the need to respect the law.
"I had convictions, I changed in recent months, very deeply," hammered the head of state, interviewed at the Elysee Palace by the online platform just before the start of the G7 Saturday in Biarritz . "I have also read a lot, learned a lot, scientists have also been very active and I think we all have to contribute some of the answers," he insisted, ensuring that the youth demonstrations for the climate had "made him think".