Gignac-la-Nerthe (France) (AFP)
Like hundreds of farmers in France and in a quasi-indifference to the approach of the municipalities, Philippe Robert fights against concreting to preserve his fields near Aix-en-Provence, half a century after having seen his own parents expropriated.
"That the land of farmers becomes an electoral issue? It is not won ...", grimaces Mr. Robert, a year after the objective "zero net artificialisation of agricultural soils" proclaimed by Emmanuel Macron. Since his installation between Aix-en-Provence and Pertuis (Vaucluse), the farmer has seen his fields nibbled hectare by hectare: six sacrificed for a motorway, three others for a road, ten included in a deferred development zone (ZAD ) ...
Between Sainte-Victoire mountain and Luberon, the plain where this organic farmer cultivates cereals and potatoes is a farmer's dream: Provence sun, irrigation guaranteed by canals and the Durance, access to the second metropolis of France, Aix- Marseille.
"Here, it's all flat. So it's easy to urbanize", summarizes the farmer, seated at a Pertuis plan: a "protected agricultural area" was drawn in 2016, but Mr. Robert is worried that the area of activity which cuts it in half does not extend.
A collective was able to bring together 300 people during a demonstration. A modest sign related to the scale of the phenomenon: France has lost 5 million hectares of agricultural land in 40 years. In the Marseille metropolis, where speculation and urbanization are raging, 900 hectares vanish each year.
Thus in Pertuis, the village overflowed from the hill towards the valley below, near the motorway exit. A series of supermarkets, petrol pumps and roundabouts was born, which nibbles on precious arable land.
"It is fine to challenge, it is not a central subject", regrets Mr. Robert. Who no longer knows whether to despair or rejoice when a flood finally makes people "think": water is no longer absorbed by the earth, aggravating the damage.
Almost everywhere, however, the speeches of local elected officials, who have the keys to urban planning, are evolving and initiatives are emerging. The Marseilles metropolis, for example, wants to encourage local agriculture and short circuits, and financially helps the owners who agree to withdraw their agricultural land from sale.
- Galloping urbanization -
But "the rampant urbanization, the creation of activity zones or the widening of roadways" continues, alarms the association France Nature Environment (FNE). In the Bouches-du-Rhône, it has listed 3,000 hectares in danger: 75 hectares threatened by a housing project in Istres, 8 hectares of olive trees by a real estate program in Marseille, or even 15 hectares of hard wheat and chickpeas sacrificed for a career in Arles ...
"There is an awareness at the highest level of the State and among the citizens, but at the level of the communes, that blocks", analyzes Jean-Luc Moya, of FNE Paca. "There is a primacy of employment issues, mayors want to do everything to develop + business +", to the detriment of agricultural land.
Some municipalities are tackling it, however, such as Gignac-la-Nerthe, which is not at all a country town, with its view of Marignane airport and the Etang de Berre industrial area.
The mayor Christian Amiraty, candidate for his re-election, pleads for "a law which obliges all the mayors to establish a + communal agricultural project" to take into account the stake. Her commune has protected all of the land and does not hesitate to pre-empt it, on which she settles farmers.
Thibaud Beysson and his wife cultivate land bought by the town hall at the end of a dirt road, after leaving the highway and wild constructions. A car carcass reminds us that the land was fallow, strewn with waste.
Like many, Mr. Beysson could not find a "regular" owner: he had to settle for a precarious lease or settle on land that was too fragmented or infertile. "I have been to see mayors, but they do not want to get wet and block" land they could make buildable, he says.
The town hall of Gignac has signed for nine years, and this 35-year-old farmer's son has been able to calmly plant asparagus, artichokes, chard and kale, which he sells locally.
© 2020 AFP