Sabotage Of 5G Sites In France Is Increasing
5G infrastructure is emblematic of the tensions surrounding all things digital. And for good reason
Electromagnetic frequency radiation (EMF) has been studied for decades — and multiple studies point to a negative impact on health.
In France, as of April 10th 2020, 1667 people had identified themselves to the organization Une Terre pour les EHS as EHS (electro-hypersensitive). The true figure may be far higher.
The fact that it’s virtually inescapable intensifies the sense of injustice felt by opponents to EMF. As of early 2026, around 47,000–48,000 5G sites are operational in France alone (ANFR, 2026).
Resistance to EMF: acts of sabotage
France has seen a significant rise in sabotage of 5G masts since Covid. According to French news site Reporterre, in May 2021 an internal report from the Ministry of the Interior had already listed 174 acts of sabotage in one year.
Burned relay antennas, fibre optic cables severed, pylons unbolted: this is a growing underground revolt.
Between April and June 2020, dozens of antennas were vandalised across France, including several in Toulouse, with responsibility for some acts claimed on anarchist websites such as Info Libertaire.
In 2021, two monks in the Rhône were indicted for arson-related offences, stating they had acted “to protect the population from the harmful effects” of 5G. That same year, a fire at a Bouygues Telecom site in Saint-Héand disrupted mobile networks across towns for several days.
When protest becomes prosecution: the Limoges case
A recent case in Limoges encapsulates the mounting anger surrounding 5G expansion. After a series of arson attacks on telecom infrastructure, six people were arrested. Four were released without charge.
The remaining two were prosecuted over incidents occurring in 2020 and 2021 — including an attack which paralysed communications for more than a week. Perhaps surprisingly, these two defendants were a 70-year-old retiree and a primary school teacher.
This highlights how the 5G conflict has extended far beyond the usual notions of vandalism and its perpetrators.
The defence framed these actions as a form of civil resistance. One of the defendants spoke of corporations that “make millions on our backs” while suppressing democratic debate.
His lawyer described the actions of the accused as an “intermediate means of protest between violence against people” on the one hand, and passive inaction on the other.
Prosecuting parties, on the other hand, rejected this framing and requested custodial sentences. They emphasised the material damage inflicted, and argued that existing legal and democratic mechanisms provide appropriate means of protest.
They also maintained that current scientific evidence does not demonstrate any particular risks from 5G. Whether this stance appears convincing or disingenuous is, of course, another matter.
The outcome –according to activist reporting– was that the defendants received suspended sentences of two and three years respectively.
An emerging pattern
These are not isolated, random incidents. Rather, they are framed as targeted disruptions of the “nerve nodes” of economic and surveillance systems. And when the bigger picture is examined, it points to a broader pattern: a growing refusal of an increasingly digitised, hyper-connected society.
Whether they have taken direct action or not, many people have called for the adoption of the precautionary principle against the “digital onslaught” — and a moratorium on 5G.
But what about those on the other side of the equation? In 2021, Orange reported “around one antenna per week is the target of vandalism”. In total, over a two-year period, Orange was said to have experienced 130 attacks in France, including 61 on mobile phone sites.
Industry figures warn of mounting costs —estimated in the tens of millions of euros— with a single pylon costing around €200,000 to replace, and far more when wider infrastructure is damaged.
Yet authorities remain cautious about publicising the scale of the problem. As one industry representative put it, the aim is to avoid “giving ideas to certain people.”
Rage against the machine: the historical precedent
Observers note that such revolt is not new. Science historian François Jarrige explains:
“Sabotage increases when more institutional forms of negotiation are in crisis. It is precisely at the moment when technical choices are still uncertain and not totally rooted in imaginations and institutions that it is possible to act.
The same thing happened with the GMO, nuclear power, but also with the car in its beginnings, and industrial mechanization in XIXth century. Today, it is the turn of digital communications infrastructures.”
Thus, this movement draws on a longer tradition of resistance to top-down technological change. The term sabotage itself was redefined by 19th Century anarcho-syndicalist Émile Pouget as a form of direct action against the powerful.
Earlier still, the Luddites embodied a similar impulse: resistance not to technology per se, but to the social and economic consequences of unmitigated, runaway mechanisation.
Anarchist publication Courant Alternatif No.14 of November 2021 states:
“We refuse the technological nightmare that is spreading around the world. On the progression of the power of machines and the omnipresence of connected objects in our lives with the illusory notion of an improvement in our daily life.
We see humans being tricked by the attraction of electricity that powers our channels; by these machines that are gradually removing our faculties, our autonomy, these intrusions and controls of our lives.”
Contemporary movements, therefore, echo historical antecedents. In Grenoble, for example, the STopMicro collective has opposed the expansion of microelectronics plants. They cite the environmental impact and resource demands of the digital industry, and question the assumption that an increasingly “connected” society is desirable.
From sabotage to “white zones” and beyond
For some, the issue requires even greater urgency. Individuals who are electro-hypersensitive seek out so-called zones blanches (white zones): areas with minimal electromagnetic exposure.
One case is that of Philippe Tribaudeau, a former teacher who has lived for over a decade in a remote forest area, owing to his severe sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. His home is two small caravans, and he has faced legal and personal struggles — as well as a frustrating degree of institutional scepticism regarding his condition.
However, with the support of Association Zones Blanches, an organisation which advocates for people living with electro-hypersensitivity, he has recently won an important round in his ongoing battle against eviction.
The heightened tensions and extreme measures surrounding 5G and digital infrastructure reflect societal questions on a whole bundle of issues. These issues are deeply intertwined.
They include: environmental limits, transparency and trust, democratic mechanisms, public consent, the reliability of official safety data, the pace of technological change, David versus Goliath scenarios, and what qualifies as a justified and proportionate response.
For now, we can say this: the direction of change is not set in stone. And remarkable things do become achievable when people work together to shine a light on institutional and corporate opacity — and to spread awareness where they can.
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Header image: Reuters / Erik De Castro
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Tom
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