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A69 construction site: “It’s madness”, denounces environmental activist Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg in the Tarn – ()
The Swedish environmental activist called for a halt to the motorway project between Toulouse and Castres, which “will endanger the quality of life of residents” and “will not only destroy nature, but also viable land”.
The message is clear: the construction site “must stop.” Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg joined, on Saturday February 10, a gathering of opponents of the A69 motorway project, gathered on a ZAD in Saïx (Tarn).
“It’s madness to maintain such a project”, declared the famous climate activist in reference to the motorway project between Toulouse and Castres (Tarn), against which the collective La Voie est libre announced on Saturday that it had filed an environmental criminal summary. This project “will jeopardize the quality of life of residents” And “will not only destroy nature, but also viable land”deplores Greta Thunberg.
“Unfortunately, this type of project is not unique to France, it happens all over the world”points out the Swedish activist, for whom this type of project “is symptomatic of a global crisis”.
Police on site
While the prefect of Tarn announced on Friday that he “issued an order prohibiting demonstrations and gatherings” in public space on Saturday and Sunday in Saïx, Greta Thunberg joined the activists on private land, where the latter are planning a weekend of mobilization. The chosen site is, however, the subject of a dispute linked to an expropriation of its owner due to the construction of the highway.
According to the prefecture, gather “on private property, with the agreement of the owner (…), is not prohibited”but the gathering of opponents of Saïx constitutes a “illegal occupation”. Saturday, according to journalists on site, 170 gendarmes were mobilized against nearly 200 activists, and dismantled installations on the ground without evacuating it.
Furthermore, a railway line linking Toulouse and Castres is blocked by demonstrators, around a hundred according to the prefecture. Rail traffic was suspended until Monday in advance.