5G should arrive in France at the end of 2020 with the auctioning of frequencies. This arrival is accompanied by doubt and mistrust leading to more or less legal actions.

The arrival of 5G in France has not yet started as radical activists are already attacking pre-existing antennas. These antennas are accused of "spreading the coronavirus across the world and once deployed in most countries it will decimate our planet". While these accusations may make people smile, their consequences are not negligible, sixty antennas have already been burnt causing hundreds of thousands of euros in damage and leading to a cut in telecommunications in certain areas.

The more moderate activists, for their part, demand that the implementation of 5G be postponed until 2021, when the study by ANSES (health authority) is published. This request for a moratorium is carried, in particular, by François Ruffin denouncing "a democratic shame". In Bordeaux for example, the mayor is intrigued by the fact that 5G is imposed "without explaining it, without discussing it, without seeing what the aspirations of the inhabitants are". In Nantes, the mayor Johanna Rolland has promised a moratorium on 5G which will last "for the duration of the debate". It questioned the "social utility" and "environmental relevance" of 5G.

The position of the French government is much sharper on the issue. Secretary of State Agnès Pannier-Runacher indicated that "yes, we will launch the 5G auction. Yes, we have taken our health, environmental responsibilities "later stating that this is a technology" essential to the competitiveness of our country ".

Health studies on the issue have taken place in England - where these antennas have already been set up - tending to prove that 5G would not have any consequences on the health of users.

The spearhead of 5G is the smart city. This technology should make it possible to fight against global warming by regulating automobile traffic and the commissioning of autonomous shuttle buses. Stéphane Nègre, CEO of Intel France, for his part, recalled that during the confinement, pollution fell by 25 to 30% due to the cessation of automobile transport. Whole sections of the economy have been working remotely and data traffic has jumped 30 to 50% "while recalling that 5G is 8 to 10 times more efficient than 4G, while having a lower energy impact.