Paris (AFP)

The showdown has ended, under conditions: 5G will be deployed in Paris "in the coming weeks" thanks to an agreement announced Friday between the town hall and the telecom operators, while the French capital still does not benefit from the mobile network of last generation.

Paris will therefore soon join Strasbourg, Lyon or Bordeaux, where 5G has already been turned on, despite local reluctance.

In this matter, it is the State which decides and the mayors cannot legally oppose.

But anxious to avoid controversy, operators have initiated a consultation in Paris, which resulted in a "mobile telephony charter" on Friday.

It will be submitted to the Paris council in March.

It is the signing of this charter by the operators (Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR) that will make possible the commercial launch of 5G in Paris "in the coming weeks".

Supposed to give Parisian citizens "better information" on the impacts of 5G, the charter must guarantee "transparency on the installation of antennas".

In return, the operators have notably undertaken to "optimize the recycling of telephone equipment" or to promote "digital inclusion".

Enough to avoid a clash within the Parisian majority led by the socialist town hall Anne Hidalgo, while its environmental partners have long been opposed to 5G?

"The Greens have voted all the wishes that we have voted on the subject since October," replied Paul Simondon, in charge of 5G as deputy to the budget of the mayor of Paris.

- Lille is waiting -

More than 8,600 5G sites have been commercially opened by Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom since the end of November in France, outside Paris and several major cities, according to data published in January by the Telecoms Regulatory Authority (Arcep ).

From Paris to Nantes, via Rennes, several green or left-wing mayors of large cities had decided to launch a "public debate" at the end of 2020 to respond in particular to a "need for transparency" about the possible consequences of the deployment of 5G on the environment and health.

Other municipalities such as Lille have already announced that they are in favor of a moratorium until the publication, scheduled for spring 2021, of a report from the National Health Security Agency (Anses).

"5G must be welcomed, without fear, and with enthusiasm since the health and control authorities conclude in a consistent manner that there is no specific health effects of 5G below the exposure limit values", Nicolas Guérin insisted on Friday. , president of the French Telecoms Federation.

- Ten times faster -

Under the law, do mayors really have the power to prevent the installation of cell phone masts?

"The Council of State was clear: it is not up to the mayors, but to the State to decide, even if some may slow down the process, for example through access to public buildings", recalled late November Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O in the JDD.

Operators and public authorities nevertheless seek to take into account local reluctance to defuse a subject that has become even more controversial since the Citizen's Climate Convention itself recommended a moratorium this summer.

Several cities, initially recalcitrant, ended up letting the operators turn on their 5G networks, like Strasbourg, Lyon and Bordeaux.

Bordeaux, led by ecologist Pierre Hurmic, even said it was "sorry" for the opening of local 5G in early February.

"Clearly, we cannot do what we want on our own territory. We are not listened to. The State, despite its great speeches on climate change, does not hear," lamented the deputy mayor Delphine Jamet to AFP.

If 5G promises to ultimately offer a speed up to ten times faster, operators are mainly counting on its launch to avoid the saturation of their mobile networks.

© 2021 AFP