this mayor who loved wind turbines too much

Covering 8,500 hectares, the Lens woods extend over a few hills thirty kilometers north of Nîmes. A natural space whose landscape, according to some local residents, could soon be disrupted. “There will be five wind turbines in front of usdescribes Thierry Gaugne, the president of the collective of associations for the defense of Lens wood. Three will be on the left, two on the right.” These opponents fear that future wind turbines will harm the environment and wildlife. “This project is irrational, it has no meaning, no interest,” says Bernadette Michaud, who is also part of the group of opponents. Their arguments were not enough to influence the result of the public inquiry conducted last fall. A green light was given to the project. The report is based in particular on “the notable importance of the favorable opinions collected” in the population. A sentence that goes badly for Thierry Gaugne because during the investigation, several pro-wind turbine opinions seemed suspicious to him. In particular the one filed on October 3, 2023 by a certain “Bird Protective League-LPO”. The message evokes in black and white a project “well studied” and defends the installation of wind turbines. “The arrival of this notice surprised everyone“, recalls Thierry Gaugne. A surprise because until then, the LPO had publicly opposed the project. 9 days later, moreover, another message, this time signed in person by the departmental head of the league for the protection of birds, this time addresses a notice unfavorable and denies any link with the opinion filed on October 3. According to our information, the identities of at least two elected officials from the Nîmes metropolis but also of Total Energies employees who worked on the project, and of an association president would also have been usurped. Each time, for favorable opinions on wind turbines. “This is a deception of public opiniondenounces today the president of the collective of associations for the defense of Lens wood. What everyone thought was that trolls were acting in this public inquiry.”

“What everyone thought was that trolls were acting in this public inquiry.”

Thierry Gaugne, president of the collective of associations for the defense of Lens wood

Following several complaints, the gendarmes investigated and quickly traced it to the personal computer of the mayor of the small village of Moulézan. The elected official is suspected of having written 700 false opinions and will be tried in May for forgery, use of forgery and identity theft. It is in Moulézan that the wind turbines could be built and could bring in nearly 100,000 euros to the municipal budget each year. “In our country, we talk a lot about energy transition. In Moulézan too, but here, we do it“, declared the elected official two years ago, in a video posted online by the France Renewables association. Pierre Lucchini did not respond to our requests. In a letter to residents distributed last month, he announced his resignation, without explaining the reasons for his actions. “I take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences (…). I am the only one responsible“, he wrote in the letter we obtained.

700 falsified reviews in a few weeks

But then, how could the elected official have managed to falsify nearly 700 reviews in a few weeks? Can what happened in Moulézan happen again elsewhere? To understand, we went to the site which hosted the public inquiry. Dozens of other consultations for projects throughout France are accessible. If you want to participate, you can check anonymous, no need to provide proof of your address or identity to express your opinion. Observations then automatically submitted to the public inquiry. Which can lead to abuses, recognizes this investigating commissioner reached by telephone. “What has changed with the dematerialized register is the scale that these anonymous observations can take.underlines an investigating commissioner. To submit even one hundred observations anonymously on a paper register means you have to come to the town hall a hundred times and it ends up being noticed.” Contacted, the Gard prefecture indicates that a new public inquiry will be launched but that it will still be possible to submit an opinion anonymously. This is a guarantee included in the environmental code.

Among our sources (non-exhaustive list):

Identity theft and use of forgeries: Pierre Lucchini resigns from his post as mayor of Moulézan

A mayor in court for having fabricated 700 false notices during a public inquiry

Falsified investigation and threatened eagles: a wind farm shakes up the Gard, Reporterre.

Clip France renewables 2022