LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse: north of Toulouse, opponents of the project are organizing after the felling of several trees

S., the last “squirrel” spoke from the oak tree he occupies, at the edge of the side canal, near the Saint-Jory lock. This Monday, this activist with his face hidden by a striped scarf tied around his head posted a video. “I'm not suicidal, he warns in a calm voice. But I want to see if they (the government and the police, editor's note) are ready to kill people for an ecocide project. They will end up coming for me. I I'm going to tie nooses around my neck. We'll see how far they can go. My death won't be a suicide, it'll be an assassination. He decided to hold his position until November 15. “Even if the oak must be spared during this cutting, we are safe from nothing,” explains Arthur Grimon, spokesperson for Taskforce against the A69 and the LGV.

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“We will fight until the end”: north of Toulouse, the mobilization of anti-LGV activists to prevent the felling of trees

The four other anti-LGV activists perched in the trees were dislodged by agents of the CNAMO (a unit specializing in this type of intervention) during the weekend. Five plane trees were cut down despite the mobilization of several groups and elected officials, such as the mayor of Saint-Jory and the LFI deputy for the 1st district Hadrien Clouet, to prevent this operation planned as part of the railway development work in the north of Toulouse (AFNT). This project will allow the LGV to see the light of day. It will connect Toulouse to Paris in three hours.

A long legal battle

“This weekend's fellings are a disaster for nature. For activists, these last few days have been decisive. Our actions have allowed the local population to become aware of the seriousness of this project”, indicates Jean Olivier, president Friends of the Earth Midi-Pyrénées.

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Anti-LGVs remain in the trees to protect them in Saint-Jory, near Toulouse

Several associations tried to obtain the cancellation of this operation at the end of last week. Two requests for interim relief had been filed with the Toulouse administrative court to suspend the cut. The last one was rejected on Friday November 8, allowing work to resume. A victory for the SNCF, which recalled that “all authorizations have been obtained so that this project takes place in compliance with the applicable regulations, which this decision of the administrative court therefore reinforces”. “The impacts of this cut, planned in the environmental authorization application file, have been offset by reduction and avoidance measures,” said the railway company.

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LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse: rows of plane trees condemned, activists take legal action

The Haute-Garonne prefecture welcomed the court's decision, justifying the project by the need to respond to service challenges in the face of increased traffic. Opponents of the project, however, are not giving up. Jean Olivier affirms the illegality of this operation: “it is prohibited to cut down a row of trees”. “This is a serious fault on the part of the SNCF. We are going to request a moratorium on the vegetation still existing. We have also filed an appeal on the merits in which we request the nullity and cancellation of the AFNT,” he said. For environmental defenders, the legal battle continues.