Forty-six wind turbines by 2028. This is the imposing offshore wind project that has aroused the anger of Dunkirkers and Northerners for several years. This Saturday, June 10, at 10 am, the association "Vent Debout 59" organizes a silent march in Malo-les-Bains to protest.
This is the third meeting planned by the collective that protests "against the announced death of our natural landscape," reports La Voix du Nord. Opponents denounce a lasting "impact" on the landscape of the "territory of the Dunes of Flanders".
'Annual consumption of one million inhabitants'
The park will be located "more than ten kilometers" from the coast, between Dunkirk and Bray-Dunes, a town of 4500 inhabitants to the east. If the project runs since 2016, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron recently recalled its existence during a trip to Dunkirk on May 12. The aim is to make the northern city a "pioneer" in the energy revolution. These 46 wind turbines would "cover the equivalent of the annual consumption of nearly a million inhabitants, or more than a third of the population of the Nord department," details the official website dedicated to the project.
Opponents, however, are not convinced. They first regret the size of the wind turbines, which will measure nearly 300 meters for the tallest, but also their distance from the coast, too low according to them. In their eyes, the wind farm will significantly degrade the Dunkirk seaside landscape. "This project will take away from residents, tourists and traders their horizon still preserved from industries, and their natural space to which they want to relax," says "Vent Debout 59".
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Special Protection Area
The criticism doesn't stop there. To the visual pollution is added a "destruction" of the fauna, says the association through the voice of its president Florent Caulier. "For this type of project, the Prefect will grant authorizations for the destruction of protected species for the promoters," he lashed out on BFMTV. "There is the problem of a migratory corridor. The ornithologists said they didn't understand why the park was located here." And for good reason, the wind turbines will be located in the heart of a Special Protection Area (relating to the protection of wild birds) defined by Natura 2000 [European network of ecological sites, editor's note].
The project "goes against this idea of preservation," laments the association. The arguments in favor of biodiversity are strongly taken up on the association's website, which specifies that the "Strait of Pas-de-Calais is theobligatory passage of millions of migratory birds". WWF France had also called in 2021 "to invest in offshore wind farms outside Marine Protected Areas and ecologically sensitive sites", such as the SPA of the Bancs des Flandres.
On the contrary, the promoters of the wind project claim a judicious choice of location. They insist in particular on a "physical environment adapted to offshore wind power" thanks to "a very good wind deposit and a variable water height". They also try to reassure: "An environmental impact study will be carried out as part of the permit application files". A public survey of Dunkirkers is planned for the end of the year.
A consultation launched by the executive
In addition to the demonstrations, the opposition association also launched a petition that gathered 19,620 signatures. Another has nearly 900, reports La Voix du Nord. The association uses it as an argument: "These signatures, well over 20,000, are more numerous than the number of voters who voted for the last mayor of Dunkirk or the deputies of the presidential majority (Christine Decodts and Paul Christophe). We therefore believe that we are legitimate to be heard and to demand local consultations in the municipalities of the CUD."
Faced with the anger of many opponents of offshore wind projects in France, the executive launched a "consultation on accelerating the development of offshore wind". It is open until June 12.