Seven people were arrested during this demonstration which took place on the A69 construction site, in Tarn, on Saturday October 21.
The mobilization against the construction site of the A69 motorway between Toulouse and Castres is “successful“, estimates Léna Lazare, spokesperson for the Earth Uprisings, on franceinfo, Saturday October 21. She specifies that “the damage“committed in a cement factory were”not worn” by the organizers. According to the activist, the different collectives only wanted to deploy large banners and write messages against the highway. The Tarn prefecture announced that it had arrested seven people.
Franceinfo: Was it a successful day for you?
Léna Lazare : Yes, it’s a successful day. We were happy to welcome more people than at the last national event. The fact that the demonstration took place mainly in good conditions, that there were no people injured and no excessive tensions with the police, makes the day a success. We clearly saw that everyone was extremely determined to continue to mobilize tomorrow with the resumption of this farm which was expropriated a few weeks ago. Everything went wonderfully.
With a few incidents, notably in a cement factory. Do you assume that you targeted him and a construction company?
An action was planned in this concrete plant which was symbolic with large banners installed by climbing activists. There was also the desire to write messages against the highway on the concrete plant. On the other hand, the damage that subsequently occurred was not caused by coordination.
Was it the work of radical activists?
I find it difficult to understand how the prefecture sorts out radical activists or not. We have seen images of young people who were masked and we directly say that they are violent individuals. I would like to remind you that there was no violence against people during this demonstration. All actions, apart from the spinning tops that were burned, are actions of civil disobedience. There were not 2,500 radical activists. The Earth Uprisings do not claim action against the cement plant apart from the symbolic messages that have been left.
Do you plan to install a ZAD (zone to defend) on the highway route?
There have already been occupations on the site for several months, in particular actions in the trees which were linked to camps. The idea with the resumption of this expropriated farm, which adjoins the land of the farmer who hosts the camp, is to make it a living base to continue to occupy the construction sites. They cover 15 km, so the entire site cannot become an area to defend. It will become a basis for continuing to take actions, to prevent the felling of trees and the destruction of agricultural land.