Environmental activists who climb the structure of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to disrupt traffic as happened in 2019? This is a radical gesture, many thought at the time of this highly publicized action. However, in the eyes of the author of the essay Ecosabotage – From theory to actionit’s probably sweet, very sweet.
When you think of the term “eco-sabotage,” think of destruction of pipelines, interruption of mine activities or breakdown of machinery and equipment. Like these activists who, last January, installed nails on the trees on the site of the future Northvolt battery factory, in Montérégie, in order to damage the equipment supposed to cut them. Or those who dispersed studded machines on a path to stop trucks assigned to backfilling wetlands on the same site.
Faced with the climate emergency and the environmental crisis in general, the environmental movement must shift into higher gear and return to sabotage, which is part of the history of political struggles (the suffragettes, the French Resistance, the struggle like the apartheid regime), argues Anaël Châtaignier, in his first essay. A point of view that is certainly radical, but which is not new. In 2021, Swedish activist Andreas Malm made essentially the same remarks in How to Blow up a Pipelinean essay which has widely circulated in activist circles, but which many have also denounced for its irresponsibility.
Consult the file “Ecological movement: the radical temptation”, by Marc Thibodeau
Swimming in the same waters, Anaël Châtaignier signs under an assumed name, a decision that his publishing house, Écosociété, explains by the repression exercised by the French government on environmental activists. The author also returns several times to the demonstrations against the “mega-basin” project in Sainte-Soline, in France, which gave rise to violent clashes between police officers and activists. Was he there? We won’t know.
This choice to maintain anonymity, although understandable, means that we ultimately know very little about the author, other than that he is French, has a doctorate in art history, an artist and a drawing teacher and that he advocates within different collectives. What type of actions did he take? What experience does he have in teaching activists attack strategies and preparation for action? We ignore it.
AlthoughEcosabotage has the interest of fueling the debate on the need to radicalize the ecological struggle, its author above all launches a call to do battle with capitalism rather than proposing a precise and nuanced argument on this central question: is violence acceptable if it contributes to saving ecosystems and, ultimately, lives?
He also ventures into slippery territory by teaching activists the art of sabotage without emphasizing the legal risks to which they could expose themselves; vandalism, even committed in the name of preserving the environment, is considered illegal.
For Anaël Châtaignier, it is clear that sabotage must be part of a diversity of tactics, in the same way as legal proceedings, demonstrations and civil disobedience, because for him, “non-violence serves to convince rather than to overcome.”
How far to go in sabotage? Fortunately, it provides an important nuance. This type of action must exclusively target material goods and infrastructure and above all not endanger people physically or psychologically. Eco-sabotage must be targeted (“reckless and erratic vandalism is counterproductive and unethical”). However, he paradoxically describes as “interesting” a campaign launched in 1999 against experimentation on animals during which there were death threats, attacks, attacks on the homes of staff working in these laboratories. A sign that excesses are never far away.
Who is the author ?
Anaël Châtaignier (a pseudonym) is a doctor in art history, artist and drawing teacher. He is active in various collectives of ecological and (or) anarchist sensitivity. Ecosabotage is his first attempt.
Extract
“Long considered a “violent” and unfrequented tactic, sabotage today tends in certain circles to become again what it has always been: one tool among others in the militant arsenal. A very effective tactic in the service of the struggle, likely to resonate with all other forms of action already existing (disobedience, demonstration, boycott, blockade, strike, etc.). A dangerous and delightful practice, whose so-called “violence” is at the same time fair, healthy and carefully considered. »
Ecosabotage – From theory to action
Ecosociety
272 pages