For the first time, a collective request is filed before the specialized judges of the public health center for “endangering the life of others” and “water pollution”. In question, in particular, the emissions of cruise boats.
by Gilles Rof (Marseille, correspondent)
This is a first in Marseille. Twenty-five inhabitants living near the platforms of the Grand Port Maritime (GPMM) and two associations for the defense of the environment and the quality of life, Alternatiba 13 and Cap to the north, bring the subject of maritime pollution before criminal justice .
A collective complaint against X for “endangering the life of others”, “involuntary injuries by clumsiness, recklessness, inattention or negligence”, but also “rejection at sea of harmful substances for fauna and flora” And “water pollution” was sent Tuesday, February 28, to the prosecutor at the head of the health and environment center of the Marseille prosecution. In particular, in question the emissions of the boats which, at the quay, keep their engines on to produce the electricity necessary for their operation, and thus distribute, in direct contact with the city, a cocktail of nitrogen oxide (NOX), D ‘Sulfur oxides (SOX) and fine particles.
Washing waters in the port
The complaint also evokes the possible presence of open “scrubbers”, these devices which filter sulfur and particles in the chimneys of ships and reject their washing waters in the port zone, where they are prohibited since 1 January 2022. “We aim at everything related to insufficient measures taken by the State and its local representatives to ensure the health of populations and the protection of the environment,” explains Aurélien Leroux, One of the three Marseille lawyers who file the complaint.
The action is coordinated by the Stop Cruises collective, created less than a year ago to combat the exponential presence of giant liners which dock daily in the face of the very populated areas of the northern districts of the city. “This subject has existed for more than ten years, but things are moving too slowly. Going to criminal boosts and pushing the public authorities and the shipowners to act,” said one of the members of the collective (under cover of ‘Anonymity) which, in June 2022, blocked for a few hours the entrance to the Wonder of the Seas Marseille port, a 362 -meter long liner, then transporting nearly 6,000 passengers.
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The complaint exploits an abundant literature of French and international relationships detailing the consequences of maritime pollution, including the critical opinion formulated in 2021 by the environmental authority in terms of protection of the atmosphere of Bouches-du- Rhône. But it is also based on testimonies of residents. Marseillais living in the 16
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