‘Green algae’ poisons Brittany

Directed by Pierre Jolivet, the film, based on cartoons, reports and life stories of journalist Ines Lérault, details the authorities’ denial, pressure and intimidation on subjects that pollute the social climate of the region. .

At the end of June, Nupes organized the premiere of Pierre Jolivet’s film Les algues vertes (released on 12 July) at Les Balladins cinema in Lannion (Côte d’Armor). Some in the audience had already read the cartoon “Algues vertes, l’histoire interdite”, on which the feature film was based, illustrated by Pierre van Hove and written by journalist Inés Lérault. . You may also have heard it on the radio. -France. Audiences immersed in this story knew nothing about the events that took place in the lobby of the movie theater, and only found out after the end credits during the post-screening debate.

“Yves Marie Le Ray, president of the Sovegarde du Trégor Goerro Association and the target of complaints from a small group claiming to be a member of the Young Farmers Union, was ordered by the police to leave the premises. In addition to Yves-Marie Le Ray, Serge Le Couaux of the Solidaire Consortium (who was the first to tell Inès Lérault about green algae), Vivien Trodek and Ludovic Brossard of the LPO (League for the Conservation of Oiseau). , there was Benoit, Alain of the Paysanne Federation and Pierre Philippe, a doctor.

Image of a dirty postcard

Today, the doctor (played by Adrien Jolivet), who is considered a whistleblower, is on the scene when the body of a jogger found on the beautiful beach of Saint-Michel-en-Grève arrives at the Lannion emergency room in Paris. Appears at the beginning of the movie. 1989. The paramedic who requested the autopsy said it was “the beach of my childhood,” but no autopsy was performed. “DDASS, the predecessor of ARS, and the county authorities put pressure on the hospital management to remain silent,” asserts Dr. Pierre Philippe.

Green algae, which smell like rotten eggs when decomposing and releasing toxic gases, have caused other victims in the Côte d’Armor region. In order to investigate, Inès Lérault (played by Céline Salette) moves to Brittany with her partner (played by Nina). Meurice), from which she sent the Chronicles of Brittany. Pierre Jolivet (director of “Ma petite entreprise”, “Fred”, “Force Majeure”, “Mains armées”, “Les mens du feu”…) focused the film on “Inès’ personal adventures”, We chose to make her the central character. I played her character and even filmed at the Brittany house where she lived.

Her reports, cartoons, and now the film (she co-wrote) are fed by testimonies gathered by journalists. Seagulls are heard in the opening credits, but the image on the postcard is discolored by the green algae that cover parts of Brittany’s bay. “Are you trying to turn Brittany into a region like Lorraine,” a representative of the influential farmers’ union FNSEA denounces her in her film. The people of Lorraine will appreciate this.

“A bellicose film that doesn’t fall into caricature”

The ‘Bretagne scourge’, the ‘ecological disaster’ and the ‘green algae’ are polluting Brittany in every sense of the word, and this problem is polluting the social climate of the region, dividing the two irreconcilable worlds of agriculture and ecology. pitting each other. . The mere mention of it would give “Brittany a bad image” as one of Europe’s leading agricultural regions. The region of Brittany ultimately allocated €250,000 for the film, but was unable to obtain all the necessary permits from the municipality, which had become fed up with its association with the pesky green algae after filming.

In her quest to understand the “factory of silence”, Ines Lerault uncovers the influence of the agribusiness lobby, which evokes inconvenient truths, denials of authorities, pressures and intimidation, and causes insults and intimidation. “It’s an activist film that doesn’t fall into caricature. It’s fiction drawn from reality,” says ecologist Yves-Marie Le Ray. “It all started with the activities of the Society (…) Sometimes the wind is against us, sometimes it is against us, but we keep our course. We do not tolerate destruction of commons.

Ludovic Brossard (LPO) added, “The film highlights the pressure on the public,” adding, “Green algae and pesticides are the result of neglecting the development of agribusiness and leaving it too much to the market. “The film does not represent the political class very well,” says Yves-Marie Le Ray, who is at the National Assembly today for a screening of Pierre Jolivet’s film organized by deputy ecologist Delphine Basso. .

Patrick Tardit

The movie “Les algues vertes” directed by Pierre Jolivet and starring Céline Salette (released on July 12).