For a month, the north of France experienced an exceptional
meteorological phenomenon which risks becoming commonplace in the futuregiven global warming and its expected consequences. Its effects have
been increased tenfold by a capitalist development of space thought
exclusively in terms of immediate profits. ---- Although the entire
region has been affected, we will focus on the Boulogne region which
offers us an overview from a privileged point. ---- The scientists
summoned for the occasion attested that natural factors played a role in
amplifying the effects of undoubtedly exceptional precipitation:
"proximity to the sea, topography, clayey or peaty soils, absence of
steep slopes..."
It is still surprising that the rise in sea temperature in general, and
the English Channel in particular, has not generated more comments from
these experts. To our knowledge, only Météo France has communicated on
the subject, recalling that a proven increase of 3°C to 5°C in sea
temperature in summer leads to greater evaporation, generating a mass of
water available in the greater atmosphere and consequently intense
rains. Intense, they were, since in one month the rainfall indicator of
the Boulogne hinterland recorded a measurement of 428.8 mm instead of
the 136 mm in normal times. Reported to the flow rate of the main river
in the area, there was also a significant increase: from 0.818 m3/s on
average, we rose to 16.54 m3/s in November. Another factor which, at
first glance, would seem positive: the water tables were recharged like
never before, but their saturation quickly contributed to the worsening
of the phenomenon...
Capitalist spatial planning
Let's now see what the different design choices are and their resulting
consequences. By cross-referencing some data, we discover with some
dismay that between the 1950s of the last century and today: the
marshes, peat bogs, floodable meadows and ponds which occupied 70% of
the regional territory now represent only 0 .8% ... These wetlands, on
which nearly one in two animal species depend, filter and regulate water
stocks and constitute the most effective means of preventing and
combating flooding. Instead, retention basins were built, the capacities
of which are considered largely insufficient by the mayors of the
recently submerged municipalities. Once again, we are not questioning
the causes of the disaster, we are urgently calling for the water to be
channeled and stored in structures built for this purpose. A disastrous
ecological and economic choice when we know that a single hectare of
peat saves 2,000 euros per year in concrete infrastructure expenses...
Conflicting interests and shifting responsibilities
The "dome of precipitation"[1]which fell on Boulonnais highlighted the
contradictory interests which clash when suddenly the machine stops.
First, those of the farmers whose farms were flooded. For the first
time, they demonstrated at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer to denounce the
misuse of the lock with the aim of protecting boats in the pleasure
basin from flooding... An argument immediately contested by an academic
from Lille 3, interviewed by the regional press. He preferred, like the
weather experts, to rely "on the exceptional phenomenon. " But still!?
Let us remember, however, that these farmers, often at the head of
medium-sized farms, have never slowed down the destruction of the hedges
of the Boulonnais bocage, nor the resale of their land to real estate
developers who take away from their hideous subdivisions what remains.
still a little alive countryside...
For their part, boaters can count on the support of the mayor of
Boulogne-sur-Mer. Like many of his co-religionists, he is working hard
to transform a city in the grip of deindustrialization into a tourist
site of regional importance. For years, resources collected locally as
well as subsidies collected from parts and others have fueled projects
which are reshaping the city in order to attract a wealthy Belgian
clientele, tired of its concrete coastline inherited from the 1970s...
That's it. money which could have been used, among other things, to
regularly clean and maintain the bed of the Liane, the river which
crosses the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Silted and silted up for a long
time, the water that came out of its bed spread over the land of several
municipalities upstream, as well as over the extent of the industrial
zone to the south of the city... Here again, the town hall, the
community of communes and the region pass the buck when it comes to
financing the operation.
Also singled out by farmers and boatmen. Still according to them, the
water level of the canals would have been kept too high in order to
preserve navigation and economic activity. Voies Navigables de France
denies this, claiming on the contrary to have lowered the level of the
canals to 1.10 m. Regardless, several thousand residents in the region
were affected by the floods. Nearly 1600 in Montreuillois alone.
Build at all costs
In the Boulogne area, as elsewhere in the department or region, several
residential neighborhoods as well as business areas found themselves
under water. The reasons for this are known and are exclusively economic
and commercial. Housing estates were built in flood zones with full
knowledge of the facts, in particular by the social landlord
"Pas-de-Calais Habitat". For their part, mayors are hiding behind the
housing crisis and the pressures they would be under... But individuals
with insufficient money are also taking the risk of building in
threatened areas, due to costs below the market.
As for manufacturers: they are adapting! We are not changing anything,
we are continuing as before but in strict compliance with the standards
set out in the new natural risk and flood prevention plan. Thus, in the
commercial area to the south of the Boulogne area, the brand new Harley
Davidson motorcycle dealership built its commercial hangar on immense 12
m long concrete piles which spared it the disaster that afflicted its
competitors. . Dentists, traders and lawyers disguised as Dennis
Hopper[2]from an operetta will be able to continue to ride their
machines for the space of a sunny Sunday on the Opal Coast, that is the
main thing...
Boulogne-sur-Mer, 12/17/2023
Notes
[1]We can no longer count the grotesque expressions and metaphors that
journalists and politicians bombard us with every day on the air: from
the "precipitation dome", to the "felt temperature", via the
"eco-terrorist» without forgetting the very fashionable: "atmospheric
Islamism"...
[2]Dennis Hopper is the director and main actor of Easy Rider, a cult
1969 film in which he crosses the United States on a motorcycle with
Peter Fonda.
https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.org/post/2024/04/15/inondations-dans-le-pas-de-calais-des-larmes-sous-la-pluie/
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