It is on a huge wasteland, in the heart of the industrial area of Moult, near Caen, that Amazon will set up a small warehouse. Almost 8,000 square meters, for a logistics delivery facility. A “last mile” warehouse, as the company explains, which must strengthen its territorial network in the region. As a result, 50 direct jobs and 250 indirect jobs promises the American giant, but several associations and individuals, united in a collective are fighting against this project.
The work has started. For the past few days, the excavators have been busy clearing the land. Quickly, the construction of the platform should get underway. The building permit was validated by the town hall just two months ago in the utmost silence. Our colleagues from Ouest France revealed it when no one in the village was aware of it, not even the elected representatives of the opposition. “We have no information, no one came to explain to us“, confirms a shopkeeper installed on the other side of the road.
Since then, the response has been organized. The Stop Amazon 14 collective has been set up bringing together several associations, including Attac, Alternatiba and even Les Amis de la Terre. Its spokesperson David Frantz does not believe in the promise of jobs: “It’s a decoy! Reports have shown that for every Amazon job created, 2.2 jobs were destroyed at convenience stores in the area.“, he says.”The other arguments are Amazon’s tax evasion, which subtracts 60% of its income from the French tax authorities. And then it is one of the biggest contributors to global warming!“
An illegal building permit according to opponents
As with any building permit, there was a two-month deadline to bring objections and file an appeal. This is what the Stop Amazon 14 collective did. The town hall now has two months to decide whether or not to withdraw this permit. In the meantime, the work is continuing.
Opponents are already seeing the next step. They plan to file a legal appeal before the administrative court of Caen to challenge this building permit which they deem illegal. In this fight, they are supported by the association Notre Affaire à Tous, which had launched the petition “The case of the century” and which had succeeded in having the State condemned for climate inaction. Chloé Gerbier is a lawyer within this association, and according to her Amazon does not respect environmental law: “The warehouses are subject to the legislation on classified installations for the protection of the environment and here, Amazon relieves itself of this legislation“, she explains.
Authorizations from the prefect are needed but no steps have been taken, no environmental impact study, no hazard study – Chloé Gerbier, lawyer for the association Notre Affaire à Tous
In the village, we are rather satisfied with the arrival of Amazon. “It will bring jobs, it’s very good for Moult!“thinks Isabelle, the baker. Shopkeepers also put it into perspective:”it is a small warehouse, 8,000 square meters is nothing, it is not worth arguing. This land has been abandoned for 20 years, it’s rather good that someone settles there“.
Now the town hall has two months to respond to the appeal, before the opponents bring the case to justice. The town hall, for the moment, remains silent and has not responded to our requests. The Stop Amazon 14 collective has launched an online petition that reaches 1,300 signatures.
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