Drought: opponents of mega-basins mobilize again in the Deux-Sèvres
Anti-basin activists arrive near Sainte-Soline on Friday, March 24, on the eve of a weekend of demonstrations in the Deux-Sèvres. AFP - THIBAUD MORITZ
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Opponents of mega-basin projects are mobilizing this weekend in France. This Saturday, March 25, from 10 am, nearly 10,000 people are expected in the department of Deux-Sèvres, despite the prohibitions of the prefecture, to protest against the creation of these giant basins, which should help farmers face the lack of water but which arouse controversy.
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The mega-basins, like those under construction in the Deux-Sèvres, are artificial lakes of about ten hectares on average, supposed to allow some farmers to secure their water needs for the irrigation of large cereal crops. But they would deprive other users of water, an increasingly precious resource, which is bound to become scarce with climate change.
The demonstrators are targeting the work of basins that has already begun, at the call of several collectives with the support of unions, NGOs, and political parties of the left and ecologist. They meet again on March 25, five months after the first gatherings punctuated by tensions.
#SainteSoline | Many weapons found during @Gendarmerie checks on the outskirts of Melle.
The prefecture recalls that gatherings on March 24, 25 and 26 in Sainte-Soline and Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon are prohibited. pic.twitter.com/CdmFQQQAJC
— Prefect of Deux-Sèvres (@Prefet79) March 24, 2023
These reserves must "secure" cereal production in the face of the lack of rain, defends the Minister of Agriculture in the regional press. And Marc Fesneau yields nothing to anti-basin activists like Adeline, who denounces a water grabbing by a minority of farmers defending an intensive farming system:
« Irrigators who do not want to change their agricultural model have no other solution to find water. After drilling, pumping into the rivers, the headlong rush continues by making this system of mega-basins that goes directly to the source, that is to say into the groundwater. The problem is that this irrigation pumps much more water than the environment can give us. »
A nonsense, according to her, at a time of climate change and repeated droughts. Campaigners are calling for a moratorium on the construction of these basins and a transition to less water-intensive agriculture. But the government denounces a radical movement and expects violence. Demonstrations are supposed to be banned.
«
It doesn't stop people from coming. The problem is there and people want to be heard, "says Adeline.
Military trucks, quads, helicopters and 3,200 gendarmes and police have already taken up positions.
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