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Environment: a day of mobilization against megabasins
Environment: a day of mobilization against megabasins
(franceinfo)
In Puy-de-Dôme, a new demonstration against megabasins took place on Saturday May 11. 6,500 people gathered at the call of several environmental associations and the Peasant Confederation.
A hike in defense of water. Several thousand people marched on Saturday May 11 to protest against a mega-basin project in Puy-de-Dôme. They denounce a monopolization of water reserves by a handful of farmers. Advanced objective of this mobilization: to cancel the project and provide alternative solutions to megabasins, considered obsolete by opponents.
Around a hundred projects in progress
A major security system has been deployed because megabasins are a sensitive subject. Last year, violent clashes occurred during a mobilization against a similar project in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres). But proponent farmers say these artificial water reserves are essential to their survival. They would allow water to be pumped from groundwater in winter before storing it in reservoirs to irrigate land in summer. In France, the government says that around a hundred mega-basin projects are underway.
