The mobilization of the inhabitants of Tourrettes-sur-Loup (Alpes-Maritimes) against the installation of a 5G antenna convinced the mayor to withdraw the permit he had granted to the operator Free.
The mayor of Tourrettes-sur-Loup (Alpes-Maritimes), Frédéric Poma, has joined the collective of residents opposed to the installation of a 30-meter 5G antenna in the town.
“Today, I have decided to fight and it is not because I am told that it is a lost cause that I should not go,” he defends on BFM Nice Côte-d’Azur.
This Friday, September 13, the mayor will meet with managers from the operator Free to find a compromise. “We will try to negotiate. The idea is to review the location. We are not against antennas, but I want mayors and local residents to be involved in this process and to see if there are other technical possibilities,” he continues.
The councillor said he was ready, in the event of a refusal, to fight Free in court to win his case. Tourrettes-sur-Loup has already appointed lawyers to prepare the case and the few thousand euros of the procedure are within its reach.
A U-turn by the mayor
The residents learned the news by chance, when a local resident discovered the permit while trying to sell his house. The mayor had signed the permit in April.
“The development of radiotelephony is a major national cause and the responsibility of the State, so all mayors who refuse to sign a building permit have all been systematically rejected by the administrative court,” recalls Frédéric Poma.
Since then, he has been convinced by the collective’s arguments and asked them to file an appeal against the permit. A first step before legal action. “The arguments are interesting,” he comments.
He advocates a change in the law
First, he mentions the fears related to a possible health risk. “It is true that today, there is not really a health study done but whether this fear is founded or not, it must be taken into account”. Then, he points the finger at urban planning issues.
“You have a 30-metre high antenna next to the houses, so it will depreciate the property value, and then it’s true that when we do building permits, we bother people about the size of the shutters, the colour of the roofs,” adds the councillor.
Finally, Frédéric Poma is therefore calling for a change in the law and is working with parliamentarians from his department and David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes and president of the association of mayors of France.
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