Paris (AFP)
Several NGOs on Wednesday called for a moratorium on the deployment of 5G, fearing risks to health but also consequences "out of control" on the society of this technology expected as a revolution in mobile telephony.
Delivering vast amounts of data much faster than today's mobile phones, 5G promises the development of futuristic technologies, autonomous cars, remote surgery, automated plants and connected objects.
But it will "rock the planet and society in a world with consequences out of control", denounce Acting for the Environment, Priartém-Electrosensibles France and other NGOs.
"The technologies of wireless communication and digital already have impacts that are not virtual: risks to physical and mental health, hyperconnection in the world of work and among young people, soils, landscapes and ecosystems impacted, bill growing energy, waste of resources, big data risks on liberties, the weight of lobbies on science and public policies ... ", they note, believing that 5G will lead" inevitably to aggravate this state of affairs.
They thus call for a moratorium on the deployment of the network and the organization of a public debate beforehand: "Develop a program that will durably modify the electromagnetic environment of the planet, man-machine interactions and the overall functioning of our society, can not be imagined without deep reflection and citizen debate ".
"For the moment this project has not been submitted to the citizens at all," said Sophie Pelletier, president of Priartem.
"We see parading every 6 to 10 years new technologies that are accompanied each time by an increase in exposure (waves) while ANSES recommends a reduction in exposure," she said to AFP.
As for electrosensitive devices, which ensure that they suffer from disturbances due to waves and electromagnetic fields, ANSES had in 2018 acknowledged the existence of their suffering, while stressing that there was no evidence of a link between exposure to waves and this controversial syndrome.
The procedure for assigning 5G frequencies to telecom operators was officially launched on July 15th. France is hoping for a first commercial roll-out in a few major cities by the end of 2020 and coverage of two-thirds of the population by 2026.
© 2019 AFP