a first in France, a resident obtains the withdrawal of his meter

© Gilles T.

– A resident of the Loire has his Linky meter removed.

This is a first in France, but also a decision that could set a precedent. As France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes learned, for the first time, a resident of the Loire obtained the withdrawal of his Linky meter without proven link with his pathology. Why such a decision? Because of the side effects he had been experiencing for many years. Indeed, the day after Enedis installed the small green box, Joseph Cascina explained that he heard “hissing sounds in [sa] … permanently”so much so that he had to “take a pill” every night to fall asleep.

A situation that has become «infernal»because he assures him as soon as he left his home, he no longer heard whistling, but when he returned to his home, “after a quarter of an hour, the whistling started again”. He will then ask Enedis to remove the meter, without success, and will therefore take the matter to court. A legal battle of more than three years where he won a first victory at first instance in Saint-Étienne, before the Lyon Court of Appeal definitively ruled in his favor.

An isolated case for Enedis

To take a position, the court considered that the electrosensitivity of which the resident was a victim was probable. According to France 3, it is characterized in particular by headaches, extreme fatigueof the concentration problems or so whistling. “The challenge is to attribute these symptoms to this syndrome, knowing that firstly, we must verify that they are not due to another health problem”explains to France 3 Professor Luc Fontana from the Regional Center for Occupational and Environmental Pathology.

Why is this withdrawal symbolic? Enedis has already been questioned for cases of electrosensitivity, but this judgment is the first taken on the basis of a precautionary principle. Which makes Enedis say that this is an isolated case: “The decision rendered by the Lyon Court of Appeal […] is an exception and in no way reflects the case law relating to the installation of Linky meters.

In the Loire, the Stop Linky 5G Loire collective hopes that the decision will set a precedent including a simplification of procedures for the customers concerned.