In the bow, arm raised, distress rocket in hand.
This Friday, several hundred fishermen gathered in Le Havre and Cherbourg to demonstrate against wind turbine projects off the French coast.
The same day, two appeals were filed with the administrative court of Rennes, against the work of the wind farm of Saint-Brieuc.
The work launched by France to equip itself with eight offshore wind farms worries sailors.
They fear that this will affect the underwater life of the Normandy and Breton coasts, and their income.
So in Le Havre, after a brief occupation of the mouth of the Port in the early morning, the Norman fishermen came down to town to cry out “their anger”. "Down with the wind turbines" echoed through the streets. "The fishermen are going to starve, the English come to fish with us, but we have nowhere to fall back," protested Maxime Leroy, a young fishing boss from Boulogne-sur-Mer.
In Cherbourg, the demonstrators blocked the exit of vehicles from a ferry for just under an hour.
Then they dumped fish in front of the entrance to the local fisheries committee.
They were around 250 according to the police.
"Wind turbines should not replace fishermen", "no to the destruction of our fishing areas", could be read on the banners hung on certain boats.
Several environmental associations were present, including Sea Shepherd and Robin Hood.
Hydraulic leaks
In Rennes, this time, the departmental fisheries committee of Côtes-d'Armor filed two appeals before the administrative court to suspend and then cancel a decree authorizing work on the Saint-Brieuc wind farm. This enables the Aeolus drilling vessel to reach the site. This juggernaut crystallizes tensions. They are responsible for two hydraulic fluid leaks on June 14 and July 28. Fluids "easily biodegradable with" a low impact on the environment ", according to the promoter of the Aile Marines wind turbine project.
“Today the ship is struggling to drill, in particular because the rocky soils are harder than initially expected by Ailes Marines.
However, it was during drilling operations that the leaks occurred.
Despite the risks, he is still authorized to go to the site and to drill, in violation of the Environmental Charter and the precautionary principle ”, retorts the lawyers of the departmental fisheries committee of Côtes-d'Armor, in a statement.
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With a total capacity of 496 MW, with 62 wind turbines, the future Saint-Brieuc park must produce 1,820 GWh per year, the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants, according to Ailes Marines.
Its commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2023, if these incidents do not delay the work.
Renewable energy
The drilling has in any case revived the fears of fishermen, who believe that the wind farm in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, which is to be erected 16.3 km from the coast, will have an impact on the fish.
“For 15 years they have put wind turbines in the North Sea, there is no longer a fish.
That's why the Dutch come to fish with us in winter, ”said Franck Rutten, a fisherman from Le Havre, during the events this Friday.
Unlike many European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark or Sweden, France does not yet have any wind farms off its coasts.
But at least eight are planned, including four off Normandy.
This energy is advocated by the government as well as by environmental associations like Greenpeace in order to deal with climate change.
On Friday, the UN called for increased global investment in clean energy, quadruple the production of electricity from wind.
In their press release, the organizers of the event plead for nuclear energy, which is very present in Normandy.
