Paris (AFP)
In the midst of the controversy over the deployment of 5G, the government wanted on Tuesday to reassure local elected officials and citizens by promising the "systematic" publication of data on new mobile technology, as well as a strengthening of scientific research as well as controls on the ground.
Sunday in a forum, nearly 70 elected left and environmentalists - including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot or the mayor of Marseille Michèle Rubirola - asked for a moratorium on the deployment of the future mobile network, deploring that it intervenes "without climatic and environmental impact study, nor any prior public consultation ".
The head of state's remarks sparked an avalanche of reactions from environmentalists, EELV number one Julien Bayou, Greenpeace and other environmental NGOs denouncing the president's renunciation of the recommendations of the Citizens' Convention.
On Tuesday, a report commissioned by the government at the beginning of the summer - precisely to respond to the demand for a "moratorium" expressed by the Citizen's Climate Convention - stressed that there were no "proven harmful effects in the short term below "the recommended limit values for exposure to electromagnetic waves.
This report was drawn up by the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development, the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs, the General Inspectorate of Finance and the General Council of the Economy.
Regarding the effects on health of electromagnetic waves, "according to the consensus of national and international health agencies, there are no proven harmful effects in the short term, below the recommended exposure limit values", write the authors, who draw on "a large number" of studies published on the subject since 1950.
"The possible long-term effects, carcinogenic or not, difficult to demonstrate, are at this stage, for the most part, unproven according to the same national and international agencies", they add.
- "Strengthen scientific knowledge" -
The National Health Security Agency (ANSES), which noted in January the lack of scientific data on the subject, must submit its final report in March 2021.
In the wake of Tuesday's publication, the government highlighted the fact that this report "estimates, in view of the first available data, that the increase in exposure to waves will be moderate, including during commercial use" .
In a joint press release, ministers Barbara Pompili (Ecological Transition), Bruno Le Maire (Economy), Olivier Véran (Health) and Secretary of State Cédric O (Digital Transition) indicate that the government "will apply the recommendations of the report".
The government "intends" to "systematically make all the information, studies and reports available to it regarding 5G".
He affirms that the controls carried out on the ground by the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) will be "multiplied in all the territories, in particular within the framework of the deployment of 5G antennas, and their results will be systematically made public".
For their part, ANSES's expert appraisal work will be "fully published and subject to public consultation".
Regarding electromagnetic waves, "in order to continue to further strengthen scientific knowledge, in particular on the so-called millimeter bands (in particular 26 GHz) which induce largely new uses, an additional mandate and resources will be entrusted to ANSES to develop its research on the subject ".
As for the local elected representatives, the government indicates that it will begin "without delay work with associations of local authorities and mobile telephone operators", in order to define "together the modalities of better information and largest association of local elected officials ".
The auctions for the allocation of the first 5G frequencies are to be held in September, paving the way for the first commercial offers in some cities by the end of the year.
© 2020 AFP