France: the ZAD of the Triangle de Gonesse evacuated
On the site of the Triangle de Gonesse, north of Paris, occupied by activists to protest against the construction of a station as part of the works of Greater Paris.
AFP - GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT
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3 min
The zone to be defended (ZAD) of the Triangle de Gonesse, in the north of Paris, was evacuated smoothly on Tuesday.
The site had been occupied for seventeen days to protest against the creation of a future Grand Paris metro station.
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On Friday, the Pontoise court ordered the immediate evacuation of the land, owned by the Ile-de-France Public Land Establishment (EPFIF), located in Val-d'Oise, not far from the airport of Roissy.
It is now done.
"
There was no violence or confrontation
" between the thirty occupiers and the police who came in large numbers, said Bernard Loup, president of the Collectif pour le Triangle de Gonesse (CPTG), which is not at the origin of this illegal occupation, but actively supported it.
Since February 7, a handful of citizens occupied this land where they had created
a ZAD
.
Denouncing the artificialization of these lands which are to accommodate the future station of line 17 of the Grand Paris Express as well as an activity zone with still unclear contours, they defend an alternative agricultural project.
🔴 Evacuation in progress of the #zad de #gonesse
Around 20 CRS trucks arrived around 6:45 am to evacuate around 30 occupants.
They are putting them on the buses to the Cergy Pontoise police station.
Evacuation in peace for the moment.
pic.twitter.com/TGMikQ6TC9
- Laury-Anne Cholez (@Laury_anne) February 23, 2021
Line 17 is to link Saint-Denis to Roissy-CDG airport in 2030, via the Triangle de Gonesse, where it was initially intended to serve the Europacity shopping and leisure mega-complex.
But since Emmanuel Macron announced in November 2019 the abandonment of this flagship project, the fate of these 280 hectares of agricultural land, strategically located about fifteen kilometers north of Paris, remains uncertain.
The Greens and La France insoumise strongly protested against this evacuation.
"
It's a symbolic national issue
," said EELV boss Julien Bayou during a press point on Tuesday.
“All political forces can promote green speeches and in fact continue productive and land-destroying projects.
"
"
Promoters, speculators, productivists have understood nothing of the environmental emergency
", for its part wrote the group of rebellious parliamentarians in a press release.
(with AFP)
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France: a ZAD to protest against the construction of a station north of Paris