“It’s absolutely not a snub for the government,” reacts Christophe Béchu

“This is absolutely not a snub for the government“, reacted Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition, this Friday on franceinfo, while the Council of State canceled this Thursday the dissolution of the environmentalist collective Les Uprisings of the Earth pronounced in June by the Ministry of the Interior.

The administrative jurisdiction considered that the Earth Uprisings had “indulged in provocations, violent actions against property“, notably in March during demonstrations against the megabasins in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) but their dissolution did not constitute “a measure adapted, necessary and proportionate to the seriousness of the disturbances likely to cause public order“.

“If you read the decision of the Council of State, they don’t say: the government should not have done that. They say: they have not completely crossed the red line“, insists the Minister of Ecological Transition, who recalls that the public rapporteur had spoken in favor of a dissolution of the collective, during the examination of the file on the merits by the Council of State in October.

Christophe Béchu believes that this decision of the Council of State and its argument have “a real warning value for this collective”. “There is a very clear warning and call for restraint in this decision“, he insists. “We need whistleblowers“, recognizes the minister, but”violence is never justified“.

After this decision in its favor, the Earth Uprisings collective called for increased actions against the projects it denounces. Violent actions would be “counter productive“, warns the Minister of Environmental Transition.”Violence, radicalism and provocation provoke the astonishment and rejection of part of the population”he argues.