The environmental association LPO proposed on Tuesday March 28 to suspend the controversial projects of water reserves for agricultural irrigation and to organize a local referendum to break the impasse around that of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) , after the violent clashes on Saturday during a demonstration against this type of "
mega-basin
".
"
Our association proposes that a local referendum be organized, for example on the scale of the greater New Aquitaine region, as provided for in our constitution
", writes the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) in a column published online by L 'Obs.
"
Let's take inspiration from Swiss citizens' votes, where the participation rates are very high
", encourage Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the LPO, and its director general Matthieu Orphelin, a former deputy who for a time belonged to the presidential majority before s away from it.
water battle
At the origin of this proposal: the protest around the Sainte-Soline basin, at the heart of a battle for water between farmers and around fifty environmental associations, trade unions and anti-capitalist groups, who denounce a "
grabbing of water
" drawn from groundwater.
On Saturday, the rally at this site, which attracted between 6,000 and 30,000 people, led to violent clashes between police and demonstrators, two of whom are between life and death.
Concerning Sainte-Soline "
our association does not think that the basins, especially the current projects, constitute the satisfactory solution for our farmers and our country
", estimates the LPO, which is however "
ready
" to engage in "
a democratic debate
".
Read alsoMega-basins: LR deputies demand sanctions against their left-wing colleagues present in Sainte-Soline
Track mentioned in 2014
Bougrain-Dubourg and Orphelin recall that former President François Hollande had mentioned the local referendum track in November 2014, a few weeks after the death of an environmental activist, Rémi Fraisse, during clashes between the gendarmes and opponents of the Sivens dam (Tarn).
In Switzerland, "
each voter receives at home a small booklet where are detailed, in a neutral way, the issues on the question asked
", details the LPO, "
the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) could take care of it
" in a French version.
Then, "
each representative political party, but also each intermediary body concerned, would present its position
" and "
the experts who participated in the work of the IPCC and the IBPES (UN climate experts and their counterparts for biodiversity, Editor’s note) would shed light on the debate through scientific assessments
,” add the authors.
Instead of a classic vote for or against, the LPO proposes "
graduated responses
" which could include "
intermediate options (for example with strong conditions on the change of agricultural model, the reduction of the use of pesticides, the coherence with the territorial project, etc.)
”.
In addition, the LPO proposes “
to put similar conflicting projects on hold for a few months
”, which would allow “
to allow time for conclusions to be drawn up for the numerous legal appeals still in progress
”.
