Our movement is committed to a pragmatic, rigorous ecology, rooted in reality and concerned above all with the living.
Please introduce yourself briefly to our audience.
Our political party has been registered since 2022. Very early on, we had the good fortune to meet an initial audience when we took part in the Legislative elections with the Mouvement Écologiste Indépendant founded by Antoine Waechter, and to now be part of the ecologist political movements that count on the French scene.
We've made the simple observation that the traditional parties lack legitimacy and fail to change things. And time is running out!
The French population wants things to move forward more quickly, and people who want to work “differently” are ready to get involved to really get things moving. Hence the choice of our movement's name, l'Ecologie Autrement!
Our movement is committed to a pragmatic, rigorous ecology, rooted in reality and concerned above all with the living. The urgency of the situation, particularly in terms of climate change, is felt at every turn, and the French people are well aware of this. We owe it to ourselves to do everything we can to meet and resolve the challenges that are already present. A societal revolution is taking shape, and we can't turn a blind eye.
We have a duty to act.
What are the main environmental impacts of lithium mines on local communities in France, which are often located near lithium extraction sites?
France is estimated to have 13% of Europe's deposits. This lithium is only found in very small areas of the country, notably Brittany and part of the Massif Central and surrounding areas.
Of the known sites, few are actually exploitable: Beauvoir (Allier), Tréguennec Prat-ar-Hastel (Finistère), Richemont (Haute-Vienne), Montebras and Brunet (Creuse).
The pilot site that will serve as a benchmark for potential industrial valorization is the Beauvoir site, which is currently in operation. It's a “crash test” for this sector. If the work begun is conclusive, the mine will be operational as early as 2027 or 2028.
This choice is not without its questions. There will obviously be environmental effects. These must be taken into account.
This type of operation requires intensive use of water and, as with shale gas, the addition of chemicals. As a result, groundwater pollution is possible if appropriate treatment is not planned and integrated into the project from the outset. What's more, the lithium present is only slightly concentrated, meaning that 100 tons of rock have to be extracted for every ton of lithium harvested. As a result, the landscape of this locality will be disrupted, with a probable loss of biodiversity due not only to environmental destruction, but also to the noise and telluric impacts that will be felt over a wider area. It should be noted that a Natura 2000 forest is located in the area concerned. However, according to the operator, it should not be affected. We'll have to keep a close eye on this.
Finally, local air pollution is inevitable, as the dust and toxic gases emitted by extraction cannot be avoided. It is to be feared that there will be an increase in respiratory illnesses in the area.
According to some officials, lithium extraction in France would have no environmental impact. What is your opinion on this matter?
As we have just explained, this is completely false. Admittedly, the impact will be highly localized, but for the inhabitants of these communities, it's their daily lives that are at stake.
There is a lively debate within the communities themselves, between those who see it as an economic boon and those who lament the disruption to their landscape - not only in terms of the mine itself, but also in terms of all the technical and road infrastructure that will have to be built. Questions about the potentially serious consequences for health, particularly that of children, are also of great concern.
Obviously, this creates a profound dilemma. And it's all very intimate, between those who will seek immediate satisfaction and those who will feel concerned by something more beautiful and lasting. It's difficult for us to judge people's innermost selves, but this debate has existed since the dawn of human thought. Aristotle once said, “Of two evils, choose the lesser”. Nothing has changed since then!
What are the social impacts of lithium extraction in France, particularly in the Beauvoir region?
At national level, the deposits are so small that the economic impact will be negligible.
The only merit of this extraction is that it will help us to be less dependent on imports from distant countries, which are costly in terms of CO2, and to move away from extractions carried out under disastrous environmental conditions in human and ethical terms.
At local level, some people are looking forward to the economic spin-offs. Municipalities hope to benefit from the various taxes paid by operators. Some locals, meanwhile, expect the mine to offer them work. The sites that can be mined in France are located in very rural areas, where jobs are scarce. In addition to direct employment, there would also be indirect jobs in logistics, processing and transport. This is not insignificant for a landlocked region with no real prospects for the future. Some see it as a kind of El Dorado. To be clear, in the Beauvoir region, 1,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created, if the current experiments prove positive.
People are also asking more general questions about the ecological transition itself and the relevance of lithium in this transition.
The subject is vast, and we feel that the majority of people are well-informed and concerned about climate issues, since these are a recurring theme in public debates organized at local level. This is encouraging, as it represents a weak signal that awareness of the titanic environmental issues at stake is percolating throughout society, even in the remotest countryside.
The French government believes that the production of lithium and its use in electric vehicle batteries are crucial steps towards decarbonization and independence from lithium imports. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Let's be clear: this measure is purely symbolic and a matter of political posturing.
French deposits are small. French production hasn't even really begun, and we still don't know whether the resources are exploitable. So none of this will solve our dependence on foreign suppliers.
In our opinion, the European level is the most relevant. European deposits will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint.
Portugal alone, for example, has reserves estimated at over 60 million tons.
What's more, it's a rather safe bet that other major deposits exist but have not yet been investigated. A major European geological research plan needs to be put in place to gain scientific knowledge of our possible dependencies, so as to find technical solutions to remedy them and guarantee our autonomy vis-à-vis certain regions of the world where geostrategic tensions are beginning to make themselves strongly felt, which could have a direct impact on us and indirectly affect the climate of the entire planet, and ultimately accelerate global warming.
This is what is really at stake when it comes to environmental policies. This is our fight!
