“What are our cows going to graze? Dust ? »
Our “ tower of struggles — Under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, many resistances emerged against anti-ecological measures and projects. At the end of his mandate, where are these emblematic fights against concreting, nuclear power, consumerism or inequalities? ? What assessment of the quinquennium draw up the activists ? What do they expect from the upcoming elections ? As the presidential election approaches, Reporterre went to meet those who resist.
Montmain (Seine-Maritime), report
His curly hair is still wet from the dew. Two majestic horns that frame a long auburn lock hiding his eyes and giving him a little air of Donald Trump. On this cool winter morning, Muscari, proud representative of the Highland breed, grazes quietly in a meadow in the village of Montmain, east of Rouen. At his side, Oregano, Burnet or Meadowsweet. “ All our cows have names related to the environment », says Myriam Jouanny, their owner. Its seven ruminants maintain 7.35 hectares of land where flowers and wild plants grow that will end up in syrup and jams.
- Muscari, one of the seven Highland beef cattle owned by Myriam Jouanny and Thomas Bertoncini. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
But in a few years, their horizon will be blocked by a gigantic viaduct on the eastern bypass of Rouen. A 41 kilometer highway against which many ecological associations and trade unions are fighting fiercely. The opponents, however, thought they were done with this project in February 2021, when the metropolis of Rouen had withdrawn financially from the file. But the Normandy region and the Seine-Maritime department took out their checkbook to compensate for this withdrawal.
Despite the opposition of a large number of local elected officials, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on December 15 the launch of a call for applications for the motorway concession, with a provisional budget of 1 billion euros. The objective of this infrastructure: relieve congestion in the city center of Rouen.
- © Gaelle Sutton / Reporterre
For Myriam Jouanny and her companion Thomas Bertoncini, established as market gardeners since 2006, this road is a heresy that will destroy a rich biodiversity and bring its share of chemical and noise pollution. In order to better assess the influence of the future bypass on her land, Myriam Jouany unfolds maps IGN. The future highway will indeed lick the edge of its fields, but it is its neighbour, Gilles Fouray, who suffered the most. The man arrives at the wheel of a large tractor, carrying a good dose of manure. “ We weren’t always friends with Myriam and Thomashe says straight away. But we said what we had to say and today we are fighting together. »
The alliance of the couple of organic market gardeners with a conventional farmer against “ massacre » and “ carnage » farmland never fails to amaze. “ We are talking about short circuits, organic in the canteens. If this is the future, then why slaughter land. That does not make sense ! » takes offense at Gilles Fouray. The ring road will pass less than 100 meters from his agricultural buildings and will affect around twenty hectares out of the 250 he operates.
- Myriam Jouanny and Thomas Bertoncini, settled as market gardeners east of Rouen. The fields on which they pick wild plants will be bordered by the future bypass of Rouen. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
“ At the time, when my father bought the farm, this project was already mentioned. He had fallen into oblivion, before resurfacing. » The man worries above all for his daughters. The first, Hortense, installed for four years, will see its 60 hectares cut in two by the bypass. Her second daughter, Lucie, has just finished her studies and would also like to become a farmer.
Will they take over their father’s farm ? “ I don’t know if I need to motivate them to settle in the area. With urbanization, the farm will be taken in a pincer movement. » He evokes the situation in Isneauville, the future gateway to the bypass, already abundantly concreted with a zone of activity and an explosion of new housing.
- Myriam Jouanny, Thomas Bertoncini and Gilles Fouray look at a map IGN to assess the consequences of the bypass on their land. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
In total, nearly 270 hectares of agricultural land will be destroyed by this road project, which threatens 78 farms. Among them, Myriam and Thomas look like a UFO: they are the only organic farmers on the list. “ We are atypical. We do agricultural processing, production and direct sales. For many, we are not really farmers. Moreover, our operation was not even mentioned in the impact study »notes Thomas Bertoncini.
The couple therefore took up the pen to write a thirty-four-page contribution telling the story of their company, wild flavorand listing the consequences of the future construction site on their production, from the dust that will suffocate their plants to the risk of pollution of the water table, not to mention the noise consequences. “ I find it hard to imagine doing organic farming next to the road. And our cows, what are they going to graze on all this time? ? Dust ? » asks Myriam Jouanny.
- Thomas Bertoncini tries to assess the damage of the viaduct on the land. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
Suddenly, a shrill little cry caught between two tufts of grass. Is it the famous dormouse, this endemic rodent has become the mascot of anti-circumvention ? Mirabelle, the couple’s dog, chases the animal which finally turns out to be a field mouse. To have the chance to come across a dormouse, you will have to come back in the spring, after its hibernation period. And rather search the brambles. “ The last time I saw them, I was mowing the raspberries. He had integrated his nest in it. I filmed him and he approached to come and feel my hand »says, moved, Myriam Jouanny, whose farm serves as an observatory for this endangered species. And to pay homage to it, it has launched a whole range of hazelnut products, the rodent’s favorite food, which it sells on the markets.
The rest of its production, syrups, jams and condiments, comes from the plants and wild flowers indicated on the plots: poppies, nettles or wild thyme. A total of 160 plant species have been identified on this meadow. “ We talk very little about biodiversity in this story, but what will be the consequences of the viaduct and the road on plants? ? And on the woods ? » asks Thomas Bertoncini.
- Gilles Fouray is a conventional farmer. The bypass will pass less than 100 meters from its agricultural buildings and affect around twenty hectares out of the 250 it operates. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
Faced with such concreting, operators in the region do not seem willing to block the future site with their tractors. The Young Farmers’ Union had indeed organized a expression nine years ago, but did not respond to our maintenance requests. “ They are silent, they are fatalistic and tell themselves that they can do nothing about it. It annoys me »says Myriam Jouanny. “ Farmers do not talk, they are jaded. And above all, they are made to believe that the farms will be better after the memory »adds Gilles Fouray.
For nearly twenty years, the Land Development and Rural Settlement Company (Safer) has been buying up land to redistribute it to farmers affected by this bypass. In the summer of 2017, she hada stock 267 hectares of agricultural land reserves, 262 hectares of forest land reserves and 40 hectares of environmental land reserves.
- The view of the Montmain fields, east of Rouen, where one of the bypass viaducts will pass. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
“ Fortunately, this workaround was anticipated »to explain Reporterre Bruno Ledru, representative of the FNSEA 76. The main agricultural union takes a pragmatic position on this highway. “ For economic activity, this is a good thing. But it will not be used for agriculture, because these lands will disappear forever. » In Seine-Maritime, the average size of a farm is 80 to 90 hectares. These lands granted for the bypass could therefore have accommodated three new farms. So many fewer new farmers in the region.
The devastation of new road projects on agricultural land does not only concern the outskirts of Rouen. Throughout France, many collectives have launched themselves to counter this concreting. They are assigned in our map of struggles. The Macron five-year term did not work in their favor. “ In the past five years, a considerable number of projects that had been in the drawer for twenty years have come to light. However, they run counter to the climate, air and energy plans and the sustainable mobility plans that are emerging everywhere. », explains Chloé Gerbier, member of Terres de Lutte. Could the result of the presidential election be a game-changer? ? “ Regardless of who will be elected, these projects are carried out at the territorial level. To block them, you need local opposition on the ground and asking for moratoriums. But I have very little hope in the election »admits Chloé Gerbier.
- Tags against the Rouen bypass. © Nnoman Cadoret / Reporterre
In the middle of a meadow, Myriam Jouanny leans over and picks a handful of dried flowers and rubs them between her fingers. A smell of oregano flies through the air. “ Why do we bother harvesting it in the summer when it even perfumes the winter », laughs the market gardener. Behind her smile, she worries about the future of her business: she is convinced that within two years, the first bulldozers will destroy everything. She and her well-resilient competent companion. “ I think you have to leave nature alone. If we don’t, we will reach a breaking point. »