Opponents of the A69 motorway were evicted on Friday 30 August from a camp they had set up near the Castres-Toulouse motorway construction site, but several of them remained perched in trees, hoping to prevent them from being cut down.
Around seven o’clock on Friday morning, some 200 gendarmes invaded an emblematic site in Saïx, in the Tarn, named “La Cal’arbre” by the demonstrators. “A gendarmerie operation was carried out to free the La Cal’arbre site, illegally occupied by opponents of the A69 motorway construction site”the prefecture said. “Only a few trees remain occupied on the site to this day”she said at the end of the day.
“During the operation, 10 individuals were arrested […] An opponent was injured in an accidental fall” et “two gendarmes were also slightly injured”she wrote in a press release. By midday, after the bulldozers had passed, there was almost nothing left of the ZAD of La Cal’arbre, set up about fifty meters from the A69 construction site. Several opponents remained in the trees on the site, hoping to prevent them from being cut down.
“While the work of these machines continues, the risk of a tragedy is extremely serious and could cost the lives of several people”the ZADists believe in a press release. “The concrete workers’ rampage is total two days before the cutting period, but our determination is unwavering”adds the press release, in reference to the administrative authorization for felling trees planned from 1is september.
Various degradations
The construction of the A69 is criticized by environmental groups and movements, which denounce the destruction of wetlands, agricultural land, trees, ecosystems and water tables. In June, near the construction site, thousands of opponents took part in a banned rally, punctuated by clashes with the police.
In March, in what was still a ZAD called “Crem’arbre”, also in Saïx, three “squirrels” voluntarily came down from the trees where they had camped for nearly forty days, claiming to have obtained guarantees on their preservation. They were greeted at the bottom by more than 200 opponents of the A69, under the watchful eye of several dozen gendarmes.
Subsequently, this ZAD was completely evacuated and floodlights were installed high up to prevent people from crossing the gates, with security guards monitoring the area.
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In recent months, various incidents of damage have occurred on the site, including fires involving construction equipment, without delaying the work, according to the motorway concessionaire Atosca.
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For their part, opponents have denounced physical attacks and the burning of a vehicle and tents in a camp in mid-August. The Castres prosecutor’s office is conducting an investigation for “damage by fire” and “group violence”.
Another investigation for “damage to property by fire” was opened by the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office, following a complaint from opponents of the A69 occupying land in Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) on the route of the controversial motorway.
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