Haute-Garonne: dozens of trees cut on the route of the Toulouse-Bordeaux LGV despite the “squirrels”

Dozens of trees have been cut down in recent days on the route of the high-speed line (LGV) between Toulouse and Bordeaux, in Haute-Garonne, where the last occupant of an oak to be felled threatened to put an end to its days Monday.

“150 trees of more than ten centimeters in diameter were cut down over the weekend according to a count by the prefecture,” Jean Olivier, president of Friends of the Earth Midi-Pyrénées, told AFP.

Contacted by AFP, the prefecture confirmed that operations were “in progress” on the site where AFP journalists saw cut branches and trunks on Monday that machines were busy clearing.

These trees, mainly plane trees, were cut down this weekend along the Garonne side canal, in the town of Saint-Jory, while the administrative court of Toulouse had rejected on Friday “the request for interim relief requesting the suspension of “a tree felling operation,” rejoiced SNCF Réseau in a press release.

The railway company says it is carrying out “preparatory work necessary for the installation of devices to reinforce the banks of the Garonne lateral canal, with a view to creating new railway lines”.

An activist in a large oak tree

On this portion located about fifteen kilometers north of Toulouse, opponents of the LGV have been occupying trees since the end of the summer, reproducing the method of protest used against the construction site of the controversial A69 motorway linking Toulouse and Castres.

The last of these activists – nicknamed “squirrels” because they perch in the trees – is in a large oak tree on the edge of the canal. He told AFP he wanted to “stay until November 15”, the date after which slaughter will be banned.

In a video recorded Monday morning and which AFP was able to view, this opponent calling himself S. declares having placed his nooses around his neck and having removed his harness. “They are going to come up to pick me up and the question is: how far are they (the police, editor’s note) willing to go to cut down a tree? “, he said.

“If this tree had not been occupied, it would have been cut down,” says Jean Olivier, explaining that this oak is home to large long-eared beetles and bats, protected species. The commissioning of this new high-speed line, supposed to put Toulouse 3h30 from Paris, is planned for 2032.