Illustration of a 5G antenna in France.
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MATHIEU PATTIER / SIPA
The Paris city hall and the telecoms operators announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement on the deployment of 5G "in the coming weeks".
Following the citizens' conference organized by the city at the end of December, a new mobile telephony charter will be submitted to the Paris council in March, the city announced in a statement.
It is supposed to give Parisian citizens "better information" on the impacts of 5G.
The charter will also aim to guarantee "transparency on the installation of antennas".
In return, the operators have notably undertaken to "optimize the recycling of telephone equipment".
8,600 open sites
It is the signing of this charter by the town hall and the operators (Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR) that will make possible the commercial launch of 5G in Paris "in the coming weeks".
"The operators show, once again, their willingness and their ability to dialogue with local elected officials in a constructive manner, and for the benefit of all," said Nicolas Guérin, president of the French Telecoms Federation.
"5G must be welcomed, without fear, and with enthusiasm since the health and control authorities agree on the absence of specific health effects of 5G below the exposure limit values", he said. added.
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 ).
Reluctance everywhere in France
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” regarding the impact of the deployment of the 5G on the environment or 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).
Anxious to avoid any arm wrestling, operators and public authorities have assured that they will take into account local reluctance to defuse a subject that has become controversial since the Citizen's Climate Convention itself recommended a moratorium this summer.
Several cities, initially recalcitrant, thus ended up letting the operators turn on their 5G networks, like Strasbourg, Lyon or Bordeaux.
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Paris city hall