From September 2 to 8, around thirty activists from the Soulèvements de la Terre and Bassines non merci movements are embarking on a major journey through the water struggles, from the Marais Poitevin to Vicenza, Italy, not far from Venice. The goal: to denounce the plans to monopolize the blue gold and create links between French and international collectives.
A 1,300-kilometer crossing to address the crucial issue of preserving fresh water. From Monday, September 2 until Sunday, September 8, the Bassines non merci collective, which fights against mega-basins (artificial reservoirs used for agricultural irrigation) and the Earth Uprisings movement are embarking on a cross-border convoy of water struggles. Aboard cars, around thirty people will reach Vicenza, around sixty kilometers from Venice, in Italy, where a climate camp will be held at the end of the week. The choice of a motorized journey “is questionable and against the model that we defend, but it was the most practical and fastest means of transport”justifies Noah, spokesperson for the Uprisings, to Release.
The departure will take place in the Marais Poitevin, in Vendée, the second largest wetland in France which has become “in recent years one of the emblematic places in the fight against the hoarding of blue gold”recall the Uprisings in a press release. This epic is also “a gesture of reciprocity towards all the groups – including the Italians with whom we have a long history of activism – who came to support us during our mobilizations in PoitouNoah says. By joining forces and exchanging ideas, we hope to create a water defense movement that goes beyond national borders. Water is not just a French problem.”
To determine the route and the stages, the activists drew a straight line between the Marais Poitevin and Italy. Five stops are planned during the journey. The caravan will travel to the plains of Limagne (Auvergne), pass through Grenoble, pause at the edge of Lake Serre-Ponçon (Hautes-Alpes), then in the Briançon valley (Hautes-Alpes), before crossing the Italian border towards the Susa valley and, finally, concluding the tour in Veneto, not far from the magnificent “City of Canals”.
Capitalist industries
All these places crossed have one thing in common: this is where local groups have been fighting, sometimes for many years, against projects that put – or would put if they were launched – waterways and groundwater in danger, the activists maintain. They cite the examples of giga-basins in Auvergne, artificial snow in ski resorts or the production of electronic chips near Grenoble, which dry out the countryside and mountains, or generate eternal pollutants discharged into rivers. Not to mention the colossal cruise ships poisoning seas and oceans for the pleasure of tourists.
“We have selected areas where the ongoing struggles have international resonances”Noah says. And because these places, “known for their natural wealth and beauty, are being destroyed by capitalist industries”we can read in the statement of the Uprisings. Finally, the seven days will be an opportunity to denounce “the State’s relentlessness and extraordinary repression” against ecological movements and to question political choices around water, adds the spokesperson.
After the crossing, the return to school promises to be intense. The two groups are already preparing for “fight back” in the event of the start of a new artificial reservoir project in the Vienne department. Finally, they intend once again to weigh in with all their strength in the public debate and convince the next government “that a moratorium on mega-basins is the only option to renew dialogue and find democratic solutions to the ongoing water crisis”.
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