2024-10-12 21:18:00
Will there be overflows in Lerm-et-Musset, in the Gironde pine forest, comparable to those in Sainte-Soline (79)? This was the question that everyone – police, residents, and activists – was asking themselves this Saturday, October 12. But the second day of “Emergency Braking”, the mobilization against the Bordeaux-Toulouse/Dax LGV organized by the LGV non merci and Les Soulèvements de la terre collectives, remained generally festive and educational. Apart from the destruction of a gendarmerie van stuck in the sand in a firebreak, there was no overflow.
The activists, between 800 and 1,000 according to the gendarmes, gathered on Friday at a camp set up in the small village in South Gironde. Their first night was rowdy. “I was woken up around 3:45 a.m. by a helicopter flying overhead with the siren at full volume. He stayed for half an hour while everyone was asleep. In reaction, there were shots coming from the camp, I thought everyone had been checked, there must have been holes in the racket,” regrets Philippe Barbedienne, the anti-LGV activist who lent his land for the manifestation.
He adds: “I’m tired, I’m leaving my place to the young people. They are intelligent and ingenious, it is up to them to fight with their own modes of action. » He will not participate in the various “games” offered this Saturday: “dixit naturaliste”, “thousand terminals against the LGV” or “Giga Kapla”, the most followed.
The activists cross the Ciron River on foot.
Fabien Cottereau / SO
More and more young people
Several hundred demonstrators set off for a walk in the forest for around ten kilometers. Head to the banks of the Ciron to erect a wooden lookout, symbol of a natural environment to be preserved. In the procession, representatives of local collectives defend their point of view: “The inhabitants of the area are mainly against this project,” explains Soazic Le Lann, of the Nina collective. It would destroy one of the few preserved living environments. It is an extremely diverse and very rich environment, the otter is there, the European mink too. We will lose this diversity and it will be a loss for everyone, not just for the people here. »
According to the prefecture, around twenty people “on S files” were checked. Fabien Cottereau / SO
In the procession, the majority of activists are under 30 years old, they are often dressed in black and masked. They claim their commitment to the ecological fight and fear being labeled “eco-terrorists”. Some wear Sea Shepherd t-shirts (ocean defense NGO), others mention their presence at the demonstrations against agricultural basins or against sand quarries. “We follow the struggles of the Earth Uprisings,” explains a 20-year-old from Girondine. Their modes of action are more effective than what we have tested. I am from the “Fridays for future” generation, but these movements have changed nothing. »
A group attacks the police
“Whatever they are, I’m fed up with useless projects which are ecological nonsense,” exclaims a young activist who demonstrated against the A69 which should link Toulouse to Castres. Tom, a young director, came from Rennes. In July, he was already in Melle, for the Water Village, against the mega basins. “There is a family side today. We see children, it’s a very good thing, he explains. The thugs are not helping to get the anti-LGV message across. »
A group of individuals targeted the police. Fabien Cottereau / SO
During the afternoon while the lookout was being built, a group of around thirty individuals caused fears of a change in atmosphere. They rush towards the three gendarmes stationed under observation. Projectiles were fired at the men in blue who responded with a few sprays of tear gas before abandoning their vehicle and leaving the scene. The van is then ransacked.
The police vehicle was looted and tagged. Fabien Cottereau / SO
The action remained isolated. The majority of activists remain behind and all are invited to return to concentrate on the vigil. Members of local collectives who joined the Earth Uprisings for the first time noted the change in modes of action. “Everyone struggles in their own way. I understand that they are becoming more radical. It’s their future. They have nothing left to lose, except the world in which they will live,” judges a fifty-year-old. Hubert, in his seventies, retains the positive side “There is a lot of spontaneity. It gives us a boost, we who have been struggling since the beginning. »
“The wooden lookout symbolizes that we are here, we are monitoring whether the construction site is progressing and we will not hesitate to come back” Fabien Cottereau / SO
“We are betting on composition,” notes Marcelle, of Uprisings of the Earth. We don’t have the same political culture but we don’t need to agree on everything to act. » Strengthened by this new alliance, the local collectives are already planning the next mobilization with the same objective “to make the struggle visible and convince more activists to join us”.
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