Actions, now and quickly!
Events are increasingly frequent. What is hardest is that development work is still just as complicated. Why...
50 dead or missing! The toll of floods over a 9-year period (2010 to 2019) is terrible. June 2010. Floods leave 25 dead and missing in the Draguignan sector and the lower valley of the Argens. More than 3,000 sheep and over 100 horses are swept away by the torrents. Flood damage is estimated at more than one billion ‐. November 2011. Var is hit again by the consequences of a Mediterranean episode that claims 4 victims. January, September, and November 2014. A series of floods leaves 8 dead, including 5 in La Londe-les-Maures. October and November 2018. New floods cause 2 deaths. November 23 and December 1, 2019. Nine people lose their lives in Var. A toll that outrages Max Bauer, president of the Coordination Rurale of Var and Paca: "I share the grief of all the populations who suffer the events and the deadly ravages of the floods. With a special thought for the Spanish people. At each field visit, we see the extent of the damage and the dramatic consequences with beautiful declarations. But there you have it, nothing is moving, or so little!"
MACABRE CHRONOLOGY
The president of the CR of Var recalls this macabre chronology: "In June 2010, elected officials cried out, with real emotion, 'Never again'! The Head of State Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting Draguignan, promised that 'everything would be done so that such a disaster does not happen again. As long as I am President of the Republic, no one will build in an area recognized as dangerous. My message is clear and unambiguous. If the area is dangerous, in the name of the State, we will ban construction. We have been playing with potential victims for decades by not applying the regulations. That time is over.' On November 24, 2011, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Spatial Planning, reaffirmed his determination to find solutions to deal with the emergency but also to prevent such disasters in the future. We are still waiting for certain spatial planning developments. In February 2014, Stéphane Le Foll, Minister of Agriculture, was ready to discuss with farmers the water law to ease the maintenance of ditches and watercourses. Such an easing is essential because they are the primary means of clearing water during floods. Farmers must be able to maintain ditches, watercourses, and dikes without fear. With each climate event, we can no longer count them! Since 2010, the Chambre d’agriculture du Var has activated the single counter of the agricultural crisis unit (04 94 99 75 21). This makes it possible to identify all affected farmers, support them, and defend them. But there you go! Natural disasters are increasingly frequent and the bills are getting heavier." Michel Barnier was in Rhône on October 25 to meet flood victims! He announced an increase in the Barnier fund, created by himself in 1995 when he was Minister of the Environment (from 1993 to 1995), of 75 million ‐ to bring it to 300 million ‐ in 2025. Strong reactions from insurers who are now asking for an increase in the allocated credits. Is this Barnier fund sufficient? The insurance sector judges that it is not and calls out the State, in the midst of budget debates.
HOLD-UP
"Let's stop the hold-up on the Barnier fund," launched Florence Lustman, president of France Assureurs, on franceinfo. And Max Bauer asks: "How can we also quantify the psychological aspect of repeated floods, with sometimes the loss of pets and livestock? Have we really thought about these consequences? And the loss of markets that floods generate? All these indirect and unmeasurable elements must also be taken into account. Without forgetting the loss of value during a possible sale and the impossibility of taking over a farm or installing young people: will we see new fallow land appear or abandonment of activity?" "Mr. Prime Minister, for all those who do not take rapid and common-sense measures to repair and effectively consolidate embankments, to calibrate ditches, to remove obstacles in rivers (trees, rocks, sand...), who prefer to slow down work with procedures or obstruct it, let them know that they bear a share of responsibility for the risks they force the population to run."
TWO PROPOSITIONS
"I firmly support two propositions. First, that the 'against everything on principle' people, whether they belong to associations or not, be registered in the municipalities in order to be requisitioned for cleaning. They will be able to measure the distress and anxiety of these impacted populations, resulting from an unmanaged control of nature," proposes the agricultural unionist. The agricultural leader of Var adds: "In addition, for associations (often local) practicing proven and systematic obstruction of work sometimes supported by organizations (DREAL, OFB...) that they no longer receive tax-deductible donations or funding from public authorities. Take the example of the amendment adopted in the Assemblée nationale preventing animalist associations convicted of actions against agricultural holdings. Mr. Prime Minister, today, I do not expect from you formulas or declarations that will not be followed by concrete, pragmatic, rapid, and effective acts. These serious events must lead you to take drastic measures. There is real anger on the ground, in well-identified sectors with populations that are in danger, as well as economic activities, including agricultural ones." "The real experts are the farmers who have lived on their land for several generations. Stop acute meeting-itis and numerous very expensive studies! Stop beautiful declarations! Actions, now! Water flows! Let's not stop it! Let's help it," concludes Max Bauer, president of the Coordination Rurale of Var!
Photo PRESSE AGENCE.