After the Clermont-Ferrand administrative court had decided to suspend a relay antenna that could be harmful to a herd's health, four mobile phone operators and the State appealed the decision to the Court of Cassation. We learned this Thursday from the French Telecoms Federation.
A spokesperson for the Federation stated that Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Free operators as well as the State had made an appeal to the Council of State.
"This antenna covers approximately 450 households, and if it stops working, there will be no access to emergency numbers," she stated, stressing that it was more difficult to manage without digital technology due to the recent health crisis.
Clermont-Ferrand's administrative court had on May 23 ordered the suspension of a 4G antenna for two months. Frederic Sageres (Haute-Loire) was suspected of causing harm to his herd's health by a Mazeyrat d'Allier breeder.
The court gave three months to the State operator and operators to manage the interruption and coordinate security calls in the affected areas.
Frederic Sageres from 200m away has reported that he has lost 40 cows out 200 since the installation of the antenna in July 2021. He also noted a drop in his milk production.
The court hearing was dominated by the Puyen-Velay court's legal expert who ruled in favor a temporary interruption.
"This herd is among the best 10% to 20% of the department" and "I don't have any medical evidence to explain the sudden drop-off in milk production from 15% to 20% in days that followed." He explained how he set up the antenna.
Philippe Molherat (the mayor of Mazeyrat-d'Allier) had approved the installation of an antenna. He had described the alarming condition of the herd and expressed concern about "a catastrophe at a human level". This raised the "concern" among the 1,500 residents of the village.
Bouygues Telecom lawyers highlighted the absence of scientific evidence linking electromagnetic fields and animal health.
Orange spokesperson claimed that the antenna was part of Operation New Deal. This agreement, signed by the state and operators in 2018, aims to expand mobile coverage to all French.
