Starlink: a small village in Normandy unites against an antenna of Elon Musk

His project, they don't want it, or they prefer it elsewhere. The inhabitants of Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron (Manche) have come into conflict with the Starlink company of Elon Musk, which wishes to settle on the agricultural land of the commune. The company has just obtained the green light from Arcep, which regulates electronic communications, to develop a high-speed satellite internet system in France. To carry out his project, four terrestrial sites were chosen to set up relay antennas. Three have been pre-approved, they are in the English Channel, in Gironde and in the North. The site of Saint-Senier would have covered the entire northwestern zone of France.

From the start, the Manchoise municipality opposed the project, a “precautionary principle”, justifies Noémie Brault, the first deputy. Both elected officials and residents first want to be aware of the risks they run. “We have no experience feedback on this system which is brand new, we need soil studies and wave studies”, underlines Mayor Benoît Hamard. A concern for “human health”, but also for “that of animals”, adds assistant Noémie Brault, also a breeder. An important question for this town of 350 inhabitants with several farms.

“We want to know if there is a danger”

The distrust of farmers is all the stronger, as they are already observing problems which they attribute to very high voltage lines. "The risks of electromagnetic fields, we are already seeing them with the very high voltage lines which disturb a lot of farms in this area", underlines the regional adviser EELV François Dufour.

Same story from the side of the cattle breeder Jean-Marc Belloir. This 57-year-old man whose cows would be located right next to the complex fears a "drop in milk production" on his farm. Yet even today, no link has been established with the harmful effects of high voltage lines on the body.

In addition to these concerns, François Dufour is surprised that we are trying to install this system in an area already connected to fiber optics.

A system monitored for 50 years

The inhabitants claim it, however, they have nothing against technology. “We are not attacking Elon Musk, we are not technophobic!” assures Marie Falguières, 40 years old living less than a hundred meters from the field. “We are not attacking Elon Musk. I am a guide in the bay; I have a website. My TV husband works. But these antennas are completely new, at least in France. We want to know if there is danger or not, ”explains the concerned resident to AFP.

For its part, the ANFR, the national frequency agency, ensures that no risk is incurred. Harmlessness linked to the operation of communication stations, which only transmit to the sky. This system has already been in place in France for 50 years when the first satellites appeared.

Despite strong opposition to the project, residents have not lost their sense of humor. As proof, milk producer Jean-Marc Belloir baptized a calf born on Tuesday "SpaceX du Beuvron".

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