The poll did not fold.
The municipal councilors of Chapelle-Royale unanimously said no on Tuesday evening to the wind projects that are taking place in this territory in the south-west of Eure-et-Loir, on the edge of the Regional Natural Park (PNR) of Perche .
Since last year, and the closure of the Châteaudun air base, where radar blocked wind turbine mast projects, requests have multiplied throughout the south of Beauce and in neighboring Vendôme.
"For the moment, we have not been informed of a possible project in our municipality, but there is such pressure around that we prefer to take the lead," said Mayor Thomas Blonsky.
Read also Too high for the Bricy air base: cold snap on wind turbine projects in Beauce
This vote of opposition has only an advisory character for the prefecture, which alone is authorized to authorize or not an installation.
Since the fall, the prefect Françoise Souliman has been leading the Estates General of the energy transition.
It should submit a report at the beginning of February.
We already know that the PNR of Perche, which straddles three departments (Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe and Loir-et-Cher) will be spared by wind turbines and that solar and methanation will be favored.
But not the neighboring towns like Chapelle-Royale.
"It's not just the fate of our town that is at stake. Imagine that my neighbors accept machines 200 meters high, we will also have visual disturbances", defends Thomas Blonsky.
“We must stop taking ourselves for rednecks”
Thomas Blonsky, mayor of Chapelle-Royale (Eure-et-Loir)
Eure-et-Loir is one of the departments most covered in France by wind turbines, with 255 machines in operation, 60 authorized, and many more in the pipeline.
“We are not against renewable energies.
For example, the roof of the town hall needs to be redone and we are thinking about solar panels”, argues Thomas Blonsky, who lets go, a bit annoyed: “We must stop taking us for rednecks, we have ideas for our development, we have just replanted hedges, we have a communal grocery store, we are attracting residents.
So we don't want to have choices imposed on us by design offices or companies that speculate on our land”.
Read alsoThe wind syndrome recognized by justice: "However, we cannot return to our house"
In mid-December, a few kilometers from Chapelle-Royale, the town of Yèvres, had organized a local referendum.
Nine out of ten voters opposed the wind turbines.
Just on the other side of the departmental border, the Horizons Vendômois association invites the elected officials of Loir-et-Cher to speak out against wind projects.
“It is better to express yourself before the projects arrive,” warns a spokesperson for the association.
