Free will have to move the relay antennas that he had hidden in fake chimneys

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Free definitively loses its standoff against the town hall of Yerres (Essonne). The Council of State disavowed the operator, who will have to move THE six fake chimneys that he had installed on the toit of a little building housing in the city for hide ses relay antennas.

Justice initially ruled in favor of the operator

The mayor of this city of 28,700 inhabitants, Olivier Clodong had opposed, by a decree of October 1, 2019, the “prior declaration” filed by Free Mobile to install relay antennas camouflaged in “already present chimneys” and “recessed from the facades”.

But Free Mobile had seized the administrative court of Versailles, which initially proved him right. The municipality did not stop there and in turn appealed to the administrative court of appeal of Versailles.

“Nor the construction on which the antennas are installed […]nor the neighboring places of disparate appearance do not present any particular character, The judges initially ruled him wrong.

And continues: “The antennas will be camouflaged in resin chimneys, similar in appearance to the chimneys already present on the building. […] Free Mobile is justified in maintaining that the mayor made an error of assessment.”

Fake chimneys that do not comply with PLU height rules

On the other hand, the town of Yerres was entitled to invoke Free's “lack of understanding” of the height rules listed in its Local Urban Plan (PLU).

Indeed, the “exception” provided for an “extension of an existing construction” did not find it applicable to “technical works” such as these “relay antennas”, even “camouflaged by an artificial chimney”.

Free Mobile had therefore been disavowed and had to pay €2,000 to the municipality de Yerres for his legal costs.

Free's appeal rejected by the Council of State

But the mobile telephone operator appealed to the Council of State: it maintained that it was necessary to take these relay antennas installed at 84 rue Pierre-Brossolette for “an extension of the existing construction” and that “false chimneys” should not be taken into account in the “calculation of height”.

But, in a judgment dated October 14, 2024 and which has just been made public, the highest court of the French administrative order simply notes thatnone of the “means” invoked by Free Mobile is not likely to “allow the appeal to be admitted”.

C.B. / PressPepper

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