Rennes (AFP)
The socialist mayor of Rennes Nathalie Appéré has asked for an impact study on 5G, which she does not plan to deploy until after a public debate, involving "respecting an elementary principle of precaution".
The councilor has decided "to launch a working group to study the consequences of the possible deployment of the antennas of the 5G network in Rennes," she announced in a statement on Thursday.
"As with any new technology, the deployment of 5G must be done transparently and after a public debate" and "this implies, first of all, respecting an elementary principle of precaution. 'assess the health, environmental and economic impacts of this technology, before considering the deployment of 5G, "writes Ms. Appéré.
The study will be entrusted to Pierre Jannin, a specialist in medical imaging technique, and delegated adviser for digital and innovation.
Reacting to the sometimes passionate stances around 5G, the socialist mayor regrets that the national debate is taking "a demagogic turn".
"Deployment of 5G: stop cartoons!", She writes.
"Everyone must come to their senses to lead the reflection in a calm manner, in Rennes as in the rest of our country," said the elected representative.
The Rennes environmentalists who sit in the municipal majority have called for a moratorium, as requested by nearly 70 left-wing elected officials and environmentalists, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot and the mayor of Marseille Michèle Rubirola.
"We need clear and precise studies", write Matthieu Theurier and Valérie Faucheux, co-chairs of the group of elected environmentalists and citizens in the city of Rennes who, while awaiting the results of the study, say that they will oppose "to all installations in the City and the Metropolis".
"Innovation cannot justify all technologies without knowing their real utility and especially the consequences. Our real needs and uses of digital technology must be questioned", underline the elected environmentalists.
© 2020 AFP