Too many restrictions? Christophe Béchu, the Energy Transition Minister, announced on Wednesday that he was considering “soft” water restriction measures “starting in March” before meeting a hydrological anticipation and monitoring committee on Thursday. However, in a context of unprecedented drought, it is not about demanding excessive efforts, at the risk of turning the French upside down.
“France is on maximum alert. It is the driest winter since 1959. The groundwater tables are two months behind in terms of filling,” the former mayor of Angers announced in cash this Wednesday on France info.
A call for “responsibility”
Before announcing, in the same sentence, wanting above all to “empower the French” by “indicating the actions to be taken”. Suffice it to say that the prefects, with whom the minister will pronounce on Monday, should mainly send a message of pedagogy.
At the moment, 4 departments are concerned about a restriction that leads in particular to limitations on “issues of watering, filling and emptying swimming pools or washing vehicles”.
Farmers should not be under heavy pressure either. Of the almost 6 billion cubic meters of water consumed annually in France, 43% is consumed by farms.
“There is no agriculture without water. It would be hypocritical to prevent farmers from producing if it is to import,” said the Minister for Ecological Transition.
“The restriction to all sauces does not solve the problems”
Two days after the agricultural fair, there is no doubt that the Executive is opening a new protest front. Operators have already expressed their anger by coming to demonstrate in Paris by tractor against the ban on various pesticides such as neonicotinoids.
“Restricting all sauces does not solve the problems. It generates anxiety and many times prevents us from projecting ourselves into long-term solutions,” judges Jean-Marc Zulesi, representative of Renaissance and president of the development and sustainability commission in the National Assembly . with BFMTV.com.
Among the paths considered by Christophe Béchu, all take time, while hydrologists call for urgent action. The Minister has already announced that he wants to put the package on the reprocessing of wastewater by better equipping the treatment plants and thus allow, thanks to a change in legislation, to allow the use of non-potable water to supply the toilets.
“A very hard speech to say for a minister”
Another source of savings: the search for leaks in the pipes, which alone represents the loss of 20% of drinking water. But the state of the pipes is in the hands of the communities that take time to carry out large works in a context of inflation.
Suffice it to say that the main lever to reduce water consumption is to demand effort from people. Every day, a Frenchman consumes an average of 150 liters of water, of which only ten are for drinking and eating.
“It is a very hard speech for a minister to say and for consumers to listen to who are used to turning on the tap and being able to have unlimited water,” deciphers François de Rugy, former minister for the Ecological Transition during the first five years of Emmanuel Macron. -term of one year.
“And so, we feel that any speech that causes anxiety is quickly blamed on politicians,” adds the former president of the National Assembly.
“He gives the impression of scaring the French for nothing”
The context does not play in favor of coercive measures either, after months of mandatory use of a mask and a very strong incentive to get vaccinated against Covid-19, added to the most recent episode of calls for energy sobriety.
After putting pressure on the French to reduce their electricity consumption for fear of a blackout, the risk of power outages is now considered unlikely. At the risk of giving the impression of perhaps having done too much.
“We’re very lucky with electricity. We didn’t have a big cold snap at the worst time and reactors in nuclear power plants that were out of commission started up again. We avoided the worst, but it could have come across as scary “. the French for nothing”, confesses a ministerial adviser.
“Do not steal”
The challenge is even greater as the drought hits regions not used to running out of water, such as Finistere, which typically has some of the highest rainfall in mainland France.
“These are places where you can’t say overnight ‘we’re going to restrict your water, manage it’. We have to help find solutions to consume less. That way we don’t point fingers at people,” he says. Philippe Mouiller, Senator LR and author of a report on the drought.
“There is no option”
Enough to face the challenge of the depletion of water reserves, which should become increasingly pressing in the coming years given the acceleration of global warming? No, answers Bettina Laville, who had launched Ecological Transition in Progress, the ecological committee of the Renaissance, now defunct.
“Yes, it is the horror of having to face so many crises at this time, added to the restrictions,” the former environmental adviser to François Mitterrand at the Élysée gets angry.
“But we don’t have a choice. We prevent people from understanding the extent of the efforts that must be made by refusing to force them to see dry eyes,” he adds.
The groundwater deficit is considered recoverable “for this summer”, for Christophe Béchu, who concedes that France “needs a rainy March”; the first forecasts do not take that direction for granted.
Source: BFM TV
