Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron (France) (AFP)
Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, 350 residents, said no to Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world.
This bucolic and already "connected" village does not want the relay antennas that the founder of Tesla wants to install in a field for his satellite internet project.
"As a precautionary principle, the city council said no, during a meeting without a vote. This project is brand new. We have no hindsight in relation to" its health impact, argues Noémie Brault, 34, first assistant SE of this Norman town, 18 km as the crow flies from Mont-Saint-Michel.
The SpaceX company headed by Elon Musk would like to install, on agricultural land for sale of 3 hectares, nine domes, 3-meter-high antennas that must provide internet from the private satellites that the billionaire is putting into orbit. .
This global project is called Starlink.
In France, Starlink has made requests for four such stations.
The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) has authorized three in Saint-Senier, Villenave d'Ornon (Gironde) and Gravelines (North).
According to the ANFR, these communication stations only transmit to the sky and do not present a risk for the population.
There are (around a hundred in France) since the creation of satellites 50 years ago.
"This worries us because we have no data" on the possible consequences "on human health or that of animals. We are a town with a lot of farmers," continues Ms. Brault, herself a breeder.
And "when we see that he (Elon Musk editor's note) wants to implant chips in people's brains, it's scary," she says.
- Called "SpaceX du Beuvron" -
"The risks of electromagnetic fields, we are already seeing them with very high voltage lines (THT) which disturb many farms in this area", adds EELV regional advisor François Dufour.
This retired farmer underlines his "great concern" about this "useless" project.
The causal link between these magnetic fields and cow disease is debated.
Several procedures are in progress.
"Social networks, the Internet, it already exists, why go looking for it on the moon", adds this native of Saint-Senier.
Milk producer whose cows graze around the field coveted by Elon Musk, Jean-Marc Belloir, 57, confirms: "On the farm, we are connected all the time. My cows are connected. My connected watch alerts me when they are calving But when we see the radiation (the range editor's note) of these antennas, it would still be necessary to make "impact studies," said the breeder.
Mr. Belloir fears "a drop in milk production", as THT are accused of causing.
This did not prevent the farmer from humorously baptizing a calf born on Tuesday "SpaceX du Beuvron", from the name of the river which passes peacefully through the village.
Installed for 15 years with her husband and her children aged 10 and 12 at 60 m from the land which interests Starlink in a "ruin that has been completely renovated", Anne-Marie Falguières, 40 years old is she "clearly against" the project .
"We are not attacking Elon Musk. We are not technophobes. I am a guide in the bay; I have a website. My husband teleworks. But these antennas are completely new in any case in France . We want to know if there is danger or not, explains Mrs. Falguières also worried about the visual impact.
The Starlink project, which promises the disappearance of white areas, does not seem "essential" to him.
"During the test operations, you had to buy a dish at 500 dollars and pay a hundred dollars per month of subscription. I don't think that everyone can afford" that, she underlines.
ANFR has promised impact measures.
© 2021 AFP