The Bordeaux administrative court of appeal canceled this Wednesday, December 18, the environmental authorization issued in 2017 for the reservoirs of the Poitevin marsh, therefore that of Sainte-Soline.
Enough to relaunch the battle on megabasins. The Bordeaux administrative court of appeal ruled in favor, this Wednesday, December 18, of the opponents’ appeal against the environmental authorization issued in 2017 for the Marais Poitevin reservoirs.
The public rapporteur had suggested canceling the prefectural decree for four basins, including that of Sainte-Soline, currently being filled, as requested by around ten environmental associations. He considered that the establishment of these structures in sensitive areas for the little bustard, an endangered bird species, did not comply with legislation on the protection of species. “The court suspends the authorization granted for these four reservations until the possible issuance of this exemption”, indicated the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal in a press release published in the afternoon.
Critics hoped for a partial or total suspension of the project. “This could be a turning point in this matter. There is even a possibility that the project will be canceled if exemptions are not granted for these four basins.said Julien Leguet, spokesperson for the “Bassines non merci” collective, before the decision was made.
Mobilization in Sainte-Soline
Water reservoirs for agriculture, often called megabasins, are strongly contested by environmental defense associations, led by the Earth Uprisings. The protest reached its climax on March 25, 2023 when 30,000 people – 6,000 according to the Deux-Sèvres prefecture – attempted to access the construction site of a 16-hectare reserve in Sainte-Soline.
The police pushed them back by sending more than 4,000 grenades in two hours. As a result, two people were hospitalized in a coma. Nine opponents of megabasins were sentenced to suspended prison sentences or fines, in particular for organizing banned demonstrations. Critics of these megabasins denounce a “hoarding» water by agro-industry.
Basically, the creation of megabasins to allow crops requiring irrigation to continue in a context of frequent droughts due to global warming is far from being obvious. In October 2023, the Poitiers administrative court canceled two projects for 15 water reservoirs in Poitou-Charentes. In January of the same year, the Bordeaux Court of Appeal canceled the authorization of the replacement reservoir project in Charente-Maritime, while in February the use of five megabasins already built in Charente-Maritime was prohibited. by the Council of State.
Some farmers also want to relax the rules to allow basins. They were heard by senators Laurent Duplomb (LR) and Franck Menonville (Centrist Union). In their proposed law aimed at “liberate agricultural production from normative obstacles”they introduced the facilitation of water storage projects, having a “major general interest”. The debate on bedpans is not over.
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