France: the standoff continues between activists opposed to the A69 and the police
In the south-west of France, things are still tense between the police and opponents of the A69 motorway project which will link Toulouse and Castres. For several months in the Tarn, environmental activists have been mobilizing against the project for environmental reasons, the government is not backing down and the first felling of trees has already taken place for the opening of the motorway in 2025. Currently, the anti-A69 fight is mainly concentrated in Saïx.
Activists protest against the A69, in Saïx, southwest of France, February 17, 2024. AFP - ED JONES
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In Saïx, activists continue to camp at the top of the trees. Since Saturday evening, the twenty or so environmentalists perched in the trees to refuse the start of the work have been surrounded by the police. In reaction, the activists mobilized against
the A69 project
called for demonstrations this Sunday afternoon with the hope of breathing new life into the mobilization.
This was without taking into account the rapid response from the Tarn prefecture. Any gathering in the town of Saïx is strictly prohibited this Sunday. The noose then tightens on the activists. And the prefecture justifies itself by “
throwing stones at the gendarmes last January
”. And “
the ZAD was reestablished the day after the evacuation
,” she writes.
For environmental activists, the message is clear, evacuation is imminent. But these climbers, nestled in the branches, are determined to stay, “
it is impossible to resupply them, but they have enough to hold on
,” commented a leader of the La Voie Est Libre collective. One of the collectives which also filed a complaint against X two days ago for endangering the lives of others, against the practices of the police, in particular the use of tear gas grenades.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg went to Saïx last weekend to provide her support.
Read alsoFrance: a parade against the A69 motorway, businesses targeted by violence
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