Since the announcements of Emmanuel Macron, on February 10, on "the renaissance of French nuclear", EDF officially designated Penly (450 inhabitants), in Seine-Maritime, to accommodate the first pair of new generation reactors.For local elected officials, this is a real victory because the group had explicitly made local mobilization a priority criterion.
"Prefeisability analyzes include technical - available land, cold water, etc. criteria, etc.-, but the mobilization of the territories remains, in our view, fundamental ", explained, at the beginning of the year, Antoine Ménager, director of the public debate of the company, during a conference of the French nuclear energy society.Clearly, "there will be reactors in the territories that express their desire and this desire must be a sacred, transpartisan union and all meshes".
One more site and not instead
Leaving their labels on the closet, the Normans did not skimp on the means to seduce EDF, even going so far as to invite themselves into the office of his CEO, Jean-Bernard Lévy, on October."We made a demonstration of force by going to the headquarters," recalls Patrick Boulier, president (center left) of the agglomeration community of the Dieppoise region (16 municipalities, 46,200 inhabitants).
There, elected officials were able to present in detail the projects identified for almost a year within seven preparatory commissions dedicated to the project (land, economic development, regional planning, employment, training, security and dialogue)."EDF knows they will need us to change town planning, build infrastructure, adapt the training," warns Sébastien Jumel, deputy (PCF) of the sixth district of the Seine-Maritime.
In return, communities will be able to count on generous tax benefits and an unprecedented economic activity.The electrician alone paid, in 2019, nearly 70.4 million euros in local taxes for the two reactors already in operation in Penly.The construction of two others should considerably swell this jackpot, not to mention the establishment of a new ecosystem of companies gravitating around the site.
However, welcoming such a pharaonic project is not without risk to the Norman economy.The investment amounts to more than 15 billion euros, when the GDP of the whole region makes 90. At the height of its activity, the site will drain up to 8,000 workers, for a basin of 40,000 jobs."The risk is that this siphon of local know-how and weakens, ultimately, the industrial fabric," emphasizes Sébastien Jumel.What we want is an extra site and not instead.»»
At the same time, elected officials absolutely want to maximize the benefits for local businesses."I don't want low cost tenders and I want them to be workers from my home," insists Sébastien Jumel.We will ensure that EDF tenders incorporate social and territorial "better-by" clauses.It will still be necessary to take up the training challenge so that companies can position themselves and there is no shortage of skills.
If elected officials are wary, it is because the example very close to the construction site of the EPR of Flamanville (Manche) has the reputation of having "dried up" the local economic fabric.For example, the conviction of Bouygues TP, for concealed work involving hundreds of Polish and Romanian workers, tarnished the image of the site.Moreover, several other incidents have enamelled the work, causing "teeth grin", believes the deputy.But after having "wiped the plaster", the elected officials of Flamanville are now able to provide their advice to those of Penly."We went there in October and other visits are planned," comments Patrick Boulier.
Thousands of workers to welcome
Among the thorny subjects linked to the very conducting of the site, the accommodation of several thousand workers is, by far, the most sensitive."I want to house employees in worthy and lasting conditions," says Sébastien Jumel.He modestly regrets "the conflicts of use" observed in Flamanville by the saturation of the campsites surrounding in foreign workers and almost exclusively male."There is no question of seeing the mobile homes multiply," adds André Gautier, vice-president [LR] of the department, in charge of housing.But if we build hard, we will have to retreat these accommodations once the workers left, invent something.»»
One of the preparatory commissions has launched an inventory of current housing capacities and EDF implements, for its part, a charge plan to best anticipate workers' flows."It will also be necessary to maintain a certain fluidity of the movements, so not to put everything in the same place," says André Gautier.
Movements, precisely, are the second subject of tension observed in Flamanville."When several thousand people go by car to the same site, it can quickly become problematic," admits Patrick Boulier.
More time to lose
Several times, the local press has echoed difficulties access to the site and anarchic parking lots, while the 3,500 parking spaces, located for some on agricultural land, remained desperately empty.In Penly, elected officials have already validated the expansion of the departmental road which links Dieppe to Penly, for 33 million euros.
At the same time, they examine the possibility of installing deported parking lots, which will be served by public transport, benefiting employees, as well as residents.However, you will have to be a lot of skill to reduce the number of self -colists."In general, it will be a question of doing everything to prevent the site from being an asset for some and an inconvenience for others," sums up Patrick Boulier.
For André Gautier, this will go through a generalized change of scale: "To avoid thrombosis, the whole territory must change, from schools to sports and cultural centers, including health infrastructure."The territory is already very deficit in health personnel.We will have to think quickly about solutions, he illustrates.Even help will have to be resized according to a greater risk.»»
To keep a collective and coordinated approach on all these subjects, elected officials are currently reflecting to set up a common operational body.It could take the form of a mixed development union associating communities and private companies."There is no longer so much time to waste," said Patrick Boulier.The first concrete will be sunk in 2028, but the work of communities will essentially have to be done before.
Recovery of nuclear: a tight calendar, if not unrealistic
On February 10, Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic, announced his roadmap for "the rebirth of French nuclear": the construction of six to fourteen EPR, the extension of all possible power plants and the development of small modular reactors (SMR).These choices remain suspended from the fate of the presidential election, but, for the sector, it is as if it were done. The six EPRs will be built in pairs and, in order, in Penly (Seine-Maritime),Gravelines (North), then either in Bugey (Ain) or in Tricastin (Drôme, Vaucluse).EDF provides five to six years of instruction, followed by eight years of construction.The reactors will come into service every eighteen months from 2035. The construction of eight additional reactors, if it takes place, will intervene between 2035 and 2050.
A construction announcement before any public participation procedure
La façon dont sont prises les décisions relatives à l’énergie nucléaire en France n’est pas du goût de la Commission nationale du débat public (CNDP). Selon elle, « le public n’a jamais pu être pleinement associé à ces choix », une logique du fait accompli ayant présidé à la plupart des décisions. En 2005, le débat sur le projet d’EPR de Flamanville était parallèle à l’examen du projet de loi qui l’actait ; en 2006, le débat sur le projet Iter succédait à la décision internationale de construire le réacteur expérimental ; en 2010, le public a été appelé à se prononcer sur le projet d’EPR à Penly alors qu’il était déjà acté par Nicolas Sarkozy. L’annonce d’Emmanuel Macron de construire six nouveaux EPR procède de la même logique. Or, « ce sujet emporte des questions de société majeures » et « interroge autant la transition écologique que la démocratie », explique Chantal Jouanno, présidente de la CNDP, dans un communiqué paru quelques jours après les annonces. En réaction, la CNDP a décidé que le débat public concernant les EPR de Penly n’interviendrait pas avant la tenue d’une concertation nationale, plus vaste, relative au système énergétique de demain.
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