“It sparked a media tidal wave.
Friends from Marseille told me that I was famous even on the Canebière, ”laughs the mayor of Fors (Deux-Sèvres), Alain Canteau.
In mid-January 2021, the Parisian devoted an article to the initiative of this elected representative of Deux-Sèvres: he had just found common ground with a farmer from the village, Christophe Pasquier, to stop - against an annual compensation of 450 euros - the spreading of pesticides near the school.
Since then, this unprecedented agreement has consisted of leaving a strip of land 30 meters by 120 meters wide, adjacent to the school, a skatepark and a basketball court, lying fallow.
“Everything has been scrupulously respected,” assures Alain Canteau, who called on the parents of Fors students.
A municipality cannot in fact pay direct aid: the mayor had to grant a subsidy to the Parents' Association (APE) which itself compensates the grain worker.
"Small steps that will make us exemplary"
“A contract was signed for five years.
We are very satisfied, I hope that the next members of the APE will continue this initiative, ”says Cédric Rabault, its current president.
Alain Canteau considers himself “to have done useful work.
A prefecture and many mayors contacted me to find out how.
I also received a lot of messages of congratulations and others of anti-pesticides scandalized by this idea of bonus ”.
The elected prefers to count “these small steps which will make us exemplary.
This year, we have also planted fruit trees all over the village ”.
Chance or not, Alain Canteau notes above all that the school has gained students since the start of the last school year.
“We had to close a class,” he explains.
Finally, we went from 162 to 171 students and we were able to save her!
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