Extension of tomato greenhouses in Isigny-le-Buat: no! The Manche prefecture has decided

It is a victory for the collective opposed to the project to extend tomato greenhouses in Isigny-le-Buat. The Manche Prefecture said NO this November 12 to the company Les Tomates du Mont-Saint-Michel which filed a building permit on February 29, 2024 to increase from 12 to 32 hectares by 2026…20 hectares more, or 45 football fields. It is already one of the largest tomato factories in France. Tomatoes grown above ground, for the French market.
A project that was opposed in January the collective Stop industrial tomatoes in Isigny-le-Buat. A collective which has since mobilized widely, notably by launching petitions and organizing a public meeting. A mobilization is still planned for Saturday November 16.

Because the members of the collective do not yet intend to give up, the stakes are too high, explains Odile Marqué, member of the collective : “this project goes against the grain of everything we are asked to do: to pay attention to water, to pay attention to energy, to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. Finally, for me, it is not not in the logic of things So this refusal of the prefecture to the extension is a good signal but we must not let it slide. We will have to be vigilant, because we do not know if the game is over. opponent will leave it there.

A demonstration is planned for November 16 alongside La Confédération paysanne in the town of Isigny-le-Buat.

A lack of environmental guarantees

Contacted by France Bleu, the company's management could not be reached this Tuesday evening

Xavier Brunetière, prefect of Manche, for his part, justifies the decision not to grant environmental authorization due to “shortcomings and inadequacies that do not allow a complete understanding of the impacts of different natures on the environment near and far from the planned site. In particular, the proposed compensation measures appear insufficient, the conditions for issuing an exemption from protection of the protected species concerned are not gathered and all of the impacts on water resources are insufficiently assessed.”