The U.F.C.N.A (French National Association Against Aircraft Noise and pollution) , convened in a general assembly at Chilly-Mazarin (Essonne) , made the following declaration:

- Whereas the noise produced by aircraft is very harmful to he population that is exposed to it,

- Whereas the liberalization of air traffic leads to an increase in the number of flights and an aggravation of the intensity of the noise around airports,

- Whereas the excessive development of night flights at urban airports seriously disturbs the rest and sleep of the inhabitants of areas surrounding these airports,

- Whereas the toxic gases given off by aircraft at low, medium and high altitudes contribute significantly to air pollution in areas close to airports as well as in the atmosphere and stratosphere,

- Whereas it is important to constantly encourage airlines to use the least polluting and the quietest airplanes, even when their fleets conform to international standards,

- Whereas national defense cannot be used as an excuse to exonerate the government from protecting people living near military airports,

- Whereas the use of light aircraft for leisure and sport activities cannot continue without regulation and with noisy material while advanced techniques now make it possible to solve most of the problems concerning noise,

- Whereas there is a disproportion between the influence of he population living near airports and that of pressure groups made up of airlines and airports,

The U.F.C.N.A adopted the following resolutions and asked the authorities to:

1. rapidly open a national debate to define a coherent policy concerning the development of aeronautical infrastructures in this country

2. begin immediately to prepare for the construction of a third Paris airport at the limits of the Ile de France Region, the only solution capable of coping with the future development of air traffic in the Paris area and avoiding the saturation of the two airports now in service.

3. establish a curfew from 10 PM to 7 AM (except for medical or humanitarian emergencies) at airports in populated areas and to find rural sites for urban airports like Toulouse-Blagnac.

4. establish, in coordination with the members of the European Union, a tax on kerosene used by commercial aviation and a V.A.T. on airplane tickets.

Tax the fuel used by leisure airplanes at the same rate as the fuel used by automobiles.

The proceeds from this tax should be used to continue and expand the program, both on a national and a European level, to reduce noise produced by aircraft by means of the development of new technologies making possible the production of quieter and less polluting motors.

5. encourage the rapid elimination of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 HK aircraft, and until the April 1st, 2002 deadline, restrict their access to airports in heavily populated areas ( Sundays, holidays anevery day from 8 PM until 7 AM).

6. fix a limit for the noise emitted by reciprocating-engine aircraft. At 300 meters beneath the trajectory of an aircraft flying horizontally and with its motors at their maximum power, the authorized sound level would be 62 dBA for single-motored aircraft and 65 dBA for bimotors.

7. remind the government that the master plan for the Ile de France region, approved by a decree the 26/4/1994, limits the annual traffic at the Orly airport to 200,000 movements. This limit has not been respected and for the last two years the traffic has approached 250,000 movements. The association condemns the attitude of the ministers who have tolerated these violations of the master plan and reminds them that in a republic laws and regulations apply to everyone.

8. convene the Orly Airport Environment Commission.The association condemns the refusal of the representative of the government to convene this commission which last met 8 years ago.

9. accelerate the reform of aid to persons living near the 9 major airports in France and especially the notion of anteriority which should be, as it is for highway traffic noise, based on the date of the construction permit and not the the date of the last change of ownership.

10.extend the aid for soundproofing to persons living near military airports.

11.publish this year texts that regulate the use of aircraft for sports and leisure as well as acrobatic demonstrations, to require the adoption of a program of noise reduction with a calendar and a date limit for the replacement or modernizing of the noisiest aircraft.

12.publish immediately the decree of application of the law 92.1444 of 31/12/92 concerning helicopters, a text that the National Noise Council approved two years ago.

13.set up rapidly an independant authority which will be responsible for assuring the transparency of the organization of air traffic and information concerning it and in which associations representing people living near airports will be represented.

The association authorizes its President to communicate these resolutions to the following persons and to whomever else it seems to him necessary or useful.

- Mrs. Dominique Voynet, Minister of Environment and Development

- Mister Jean-Claude Gayssot, Minister of Transportation, Equipment and Housing

- Mister Christian Cabal, President of the National Noise Council

- Mister Jean-Pierre Gualezzi, Rapporteur of the 15/4/1998 note of the Social and Economic Council - "Noise In The City"

- Mister Michel Herry, Mayor of Villeneuve le Roi and President of the Committee of Towns Bordering Orly Airport

- The President of the Regional Council of Ile de France

- The President of the General Council of Essonne

- ,The President of the General Council of Val de Marne

- The President of the General Council of Val d'Oise

- Mister Jean-Pierre Blazy, Deputy of Val d'Oise

- Mister François Lamy, Deputy of Essonne

- Mister Colot, Director of Urban Environment at Orly Airport

- The Prefect of Val de Marne, Coordinator

- The Press

The President

Roger VAYRAC

Member of C.N.B and C.N.P.N