• The spokesperson for the “Bassines non merci” collective, which opposes the creation of water reservoirs drawn from groundwater to irrigate certain farms in the summer, discovered a GPS tracker on his vehicle.

  • The prefecture explained that the police were monitoring this person in "prevention of other violent movements".

    A new event is announced for March 25.

  • The spokesperson, Julien Le Guet, announced his probable intention to file a complaint, considering that it is an attack on individual freedoms.

    The prefecture defends “legal” practices.

His journeys were monitored.

The spokesperson for the "Bassines non merci" collective, which campaigns against the construction of water reservoirs for agricultural irrigation in Deux-Sèvres, revealed that he had discovered a police GPS tracker on his vehicle, denouncing Friday "barbouzeries".

Questioned by AFP, the prefecture of the department confirmed that the device discovered had been placed for the purposes of police surveillance.

A planned complaint

"I'm starting to find these kinds of methods unbearable," said Julien Le Guet during an online press conference, recalling that police surveillance equipment had already been discovered in March 2022 in front of his father's home.

He added that he was "probably" going to press charges.

“We demand that all light be shed on these extraordinary means of surveillance and the serious attack on public and individual freedoms that they represent”, declares for its part the environmental movement of the Uprisings of the Earth in a press release.

The prefecture considers for its part that "the history of violence of Bassines non merci justifies surveillance to prevent serious and generalized disturbances to property, even to people".

“The beacon-type device is therefore perfectly legal.

It is normal for the police services to use all the legal means at their disposal, either in the context of investigations or in the prevention of other announced violent movements,” she added.

In March 2022, the prefecture had already explained the presence of means of surveillance in front of the home of Julien Le Guet's father "by the involvement of the collective in the organization of demonstrations which have caused serious disturbances to public order in recent months. in Deux-Sèvres and neighboring departments.

A new event on March 25

Several rallies against "basins", a nickname given to water reservoirs, took place in the fall of 2021, at the end of March 2022 and in October 2022 for the latest, which brought together several thousand people in Sainte-Soline ( Deux-Sèvres) and led to clashes with the police.

Developed by a group of farmers with the support of the State, the project of 16 reservoirs aims to pump several hundred thousand m3 from the surface water tables in winter to irrigate in summer.

Its detractors, who are organizing a new demonstration on March 25 in Poitou-Charentes, denounce a “grabbing of water” intended for “agro-industry”.

On the contrary, its promoters defend "a transition accelerator", the farmers benefiting from the reserves having committed themselves to adopting practices geared towards agroecology.

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  • Miscellaneous facts

  • Water

  • Poitou-Charentes

  • Agriculture