Earth uprisings: the lawyers of the collective announce an appeal against its dissolution

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 18:28 p.m., June 21, 2023, modified at 18:29 p.m., June 21, 2023

The lawyers of the Earth Uprisings announced Wednesday their intention to file an appeal before the Council of State against the dissolution of the collective by the government, because it "intervenes in disregard of fundamental freedoms," said one of the counsel of the collective, Raphaël Kempf. "The government has no solid legal basis to dissolve the Earth Uprisings," he added. "We contest even the name of the 'de facto grouping' because the Earth Uprisings are a movement that is horizontal, that cannot be dissolved," added her colleague, Ainoha Pascual.

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Greta Thunberg supports the collective

Greta Thunberg, present in Paris on the occasion of the summit for a new global financial pact, went to the rally in front of the Council of State to lend her support to the Earth Uprisings and defend "the right to demonstrate". "It's a question of the right to protest and the defense of life," she said, alongside members of the collective, elected officials and organizations. "I hope more people will mobilize against what is happening right now, and defend the right to protest."

Associated with the Earth Uprisings, EELV wants to stand out for its "non-violence"

Associated with the Earth Uprisings, dissolved Wednesday by the government, the ecologists of EELV defend themselves from any encouragement to violence, having at heart not to waste their efforts to appear as a credible alternative of government. Since the announcement of this decision, the Greens have shown their "solidarity" with the SDT, to the point of associating themselves with the appeal against their dissolution which will be filed with the Council of State.

"This dissolution comes in defiance of fundamental freedoms that this government ultimately has no use for, such as freedom of association (...), but also freedom of expression," said Kempf, interviewed by journalists on the sidelines of the rally in front of the Council of State.

"What will happen?" asks SLT's lawyer

"Now, from tomorrow (Thursday), when the decree finally becomes effective after its publication in the Official Journal, what will happen?" the lawyer asked. "The more than 100,000 people" who claim to be part of the group will be "liable to three years in prison," he replied. "Is the government ready to go as far as the absurdity of putting more than 100,000 people in prison in this country?" insisted Raphaël Kempf.

>> READ ALSO – Dissolution of the Uprisings of the Earth: Coquerel denounces "the authoritarian drift, mark of this executive"

The rally in support of the ecologist collective took place in the presence of elected officials such as Mathilde Panot of the France insoumise. The dissolution was pronounced Wednesday morning in the Council of Ministers, the government accusing the ecologist collective of "calling" and "participating" in violence.