Wind turbines, war is declared (in France)

Never has the opposition to wind turbines been so deep and so shared. Despite this, it seems that nothing can stop this destructive system. Nine months before the presidential election, France is up against the wall: it will be the big blackout or the big change.

FRANCE -- "An environmental catastrophe, " a negation of ecology " , a " useless and ruinous "policy which " harms the climate " , even " one of the most serious dangers which threatens France " . Coming from various horizons - specialists in energy issues, defenders of heritage, elected officials of the nation or simple residents - the particularly virulent criticisms, and almost unprecedented by their force, of which wind turbines are now the target say two things: that these objects supposedly virtuous are not so much and that the exasperation of their opponents today reaches unparalleled heights.

France is experiencing this astonishing situation where a hostility that is both lively and more and more widespread towards a given object does not seem able to slow down its development or even really to reach it in its symbolic status. Wind turbines, which are numerous (around 8,000 towers), will soon see their number doubling, perhaps tripling, and they continue to embody the face of ecology almost everywhere, that is to say that of 'a greener, more balanced, more sober world, in a word: better. How to explain this paradox ?

A restaurant open two hours a day and rarely at mealtime

For Patrice Cahart, former inspector of finances and author of the book La Peste Aolienne (Hugo & Cie), the explanation can be summed up in one word: illusion. “The French remain convinced that wind turbines are good for the climate ,” he explains. This is the basic reality. In his speech in Polynesia, Emmanuel Macron still reasons as if it was useful and that we just had to pay attention to where to install them. Whereas the bottom line is that it is absolutely not useful. I completely reject this debate on the right or wrong location. " This question of nuisance to the people concerned is certainly important (read our article on page 24), but it has helped obscure the exact nature of the problem. That, by a miracle, the wind turbines move away from the houses, that they are off the coast, that they stop wasting the life of the people as of defiling the landscapes would not change anything in the problem: France does not need of these machines. "Wind turbines are too often seen as only unpopular, something that people would not want , confirms the deputy (LR) of Vaucluse, Julien Aubert, author of a reference report on the subject. It is an argument, but it is insufficient. They are not yet seen as unnecessary or dangerous. "

How can we make people - whether the general public or our leaders - aware of the intrinsic faults of this source of electricity - dramatically deprived of any scientific and technical knowledge? Let's try an image: a wind turbine, subjected to the intermittence of the wind, sometimes to its absence, is like a restaurant that would be open two hours a day, never at the same times and rarely at meal times. "In a free world, this restaurant would go bankrupt in a week ," observes Michel Faure, wind power specialist, member of the Énergies Vérité collective. But we are not in a free world, because this restaurant, when it opens, you have to become to eat there, when it is bad and very expensive. "

No one would want to be the customer of this restaurant, but on the other hand, many would like to be the owner. The economic model of wind power is a singularity in the history of commerce: we sell a product well above the market price and the customer, who would have needed it yesterday and not today, is still obliged to buy it. And he continues to pay for this system to continue. Never seen. Every salesperson's dream. It is not surprising that the (many) people involved in this activity are ready to do anything to keep their golden income. "We have an ecosystem of 200 to 300 entities, small or large, often foreign elsewhere, which benefit from an absolutely monstrous windfall and make staggering profits ," explains Michel Faure.The wind lobby feeds heavily on the backs of our electricity bills or our trips to the gas pump. "

The story of this gigantic scam has often been made in these columns: particularly astute businessmen have plunged into the breach that the “ecological” ideology (rigorous quotes) had opened in the French energy position. We needed a mix , we needed renewable, above all we had to stop building a nuclear power plant. Replacing a massive and controllable source of energy with another, much weaker and more random, was "completely stupid" , to use the word of an expert, but it is indeed what was done. Nuclear power has stalled, wind turbines and solar panels have multiplied, weakening an entire system, fracturing an entire society.

After years of not understanding what was happening to her, she now protests vigorously and sometimes surprisingly. Close to Emmanuel Macron but apolitical, little suspect of being subservient to any competing energy pressure group, Stéphane Bern did not mince his words on the Figaro site in June. “There is nothing renewable or green about wind power,” he said indignantly. It nurtures powerful promoters who wear the clothes of ecology to make money easily on the backs of our rural fellow citizens, often victims of odious blackmail and intolerable pressure. "The platform made people speak, but nothing has moved. Dozens of letters of grievance are addressed to Brigitte Macron; they all receive the same stereotypical response, no doubt coming from the same Secretary of State. Other fiery stands follow shocking works. Reports are published: from Parliament, the Court of Auditors, our scientific academies, they all say the same thing: “ Wind turbines are useless. They have a lot of flaws and no quality. Let's stop the massacre. " Radio silence. Structures 200 meters high continue to invade the territory, even disfiguring classified sites, such as that of the Sainte-Victoire mountain.

What else to do? Charles Thimon's film (read our interview on page 22) reviews, for two hours, all the arguments of the pro-wind turbines and does not leave a single one standing, in an indictment of an implacable pedagogy (and visually superb); we say to ourselves that we finally have the expected object that will derail the whole system, but we are wrong. The fight simply came out of the shadows. The armies face each other, in full sun, but nothing is moving yet. As the deputy (LR) of the Somme Emmanuel Maquet deplores, "we live in a society which sometimes reacts to trifles and which turns a blind eye to millions, billions" ...

The presidential election, the ideal firing window to pop the balloons

For the eyes to finally open, it would take a shock, an accident. “The most likely click, the one that would be the most effective in any case, would be a blackout , postulates Julien Aubert. A big blackout, which would affect the country for a few hours, or even a few days. As long as France is not reached in this way, at the heart of its society, of the economy, it will not realize the profound harmfulness of wind turbines. "Electricity, like running water, is too natural for the French. They no longer know to what they owe its availability and its still low price although it has increased by 50% in ten years. Even among the most deprived people, fuel poverty is masked by systems of aid, compensation - cauteries on a wooden leg. For the light to shine on the occasion of a great night would be paradoxical, but France has already come close to a national breakdown on several occasions. It could happen to him for good. It is not certain that good lessons would be drawn from it (this is the problem, with ideology), but the debate, at least, would be more than ever on the table.

If a gigantic breakdown is not to be desired in view of the very significant collateral damage it would cause, a simple decision from above could put an end to this madness. "We are told repeatedly that wind power is a mature technology, that we are at a point of equilibrium ," explains Emmanuel Maquet. I say stingy! Let's put an end to subsidized tariffs. Let's pay the promoters at the crude rate. We'll see what we'll see. " Deprived of his annuity solid gold, the system would collapse. The deputy, alas, does not harbor any illusions. “France has already committed billions of euros for renewables as part of the energy transition. Going back, withdrawing, breaking contracts, would cost too much. "

The other big “accident” which could put down the wind power, it is obviously the presidential campaign, window of fire ideal to burst the balloons (or to inflate others). "The election will be an absolutely key moment ," believes Fabien Bouglé, author of the book Wind turbines: the dark side of ecological transition (Éditions du Rocher) . It will be the renewal or the continuation of the mad rush. " In this context Emmanuel Macron will remain a prisoner of his " at the same time " . As has been said, environmentalists are zealous promoters of wind turbines. Marine Le Pen took a stand against, calling for a "sacred union"facing this industry. Stay right. President of Hauts-de-France, a region plagued by wind power, Xavier Bertrand has long taken a stand against it. Valérie Pécresse, on the other hand, has never said anything bad about wind or solar power. Île-de-France is little affected and her husband, Jérôme Pécresse, heads the Renewable Energy subsidiary of General Electric, which puts her in an embarrassing situation. A possible primary on the right would be an interesting moment to give a signal on this subject.

The stake, of course, goes beyond the question of candidate LR. “It is even vastly superior to wind turbines ,” continues Fabien Bouglé. What is the industrial choice we want to make? French nuclear power, German wind turbines or Russian gas? We must open our eyes, say it clearly: we are at war for our energy independence. Let's not dream: reindustrialisation will not be possible with scarce and expensive electricity. It is a gigantic sovereignty issue. I say it with certainty: the next president will be anti-wind. " Answer in nine months.