France
Status: 04/23/2023 01:54 AM
Soapbox race against the climate crisis: In the south of France, thousands have rejected the construction project on the A69 motorway between Toulouse and Castres. They are calling for an “immediate halt” to construction work on the 53-kilometre A69.
Thousands of people demonstrated yesterday in southwest France against the planned construction of a new motorway. According to the organizers, 8,200 people demonstrated on Saturday on the planned A69 route between Toulouse and Castres. And by county, there were 4,500 participants.
The demonstrators, who rejected the construction project in light of the climate crisis, held banners with writings such as “Less Energy, Less Cars, Less Tar”, and were on the road with several self-made soap boxes and other vehicles.
The march’s organizers in the Tarn department, including Extinction Rebellion and other environmental groups, had previously called for an “immediate halt” to construction work on the 53km A69 at a press conference. The department is expected to cut travel time between Toulouse and Castres by 20 minutes. The journey currently takes about an hour.
Some local deputies support the construction project, others reject it as outdated. Julien Baio of the EELV Greens party criticized the new motorway as “outdated”. “This is a project that dates back to the 1990s,” Sandrine Rousseau, an MP for the “Green” party, told AFP. It assumes that distances can only be covered by car. However, due to the progression of climate change, this view is no longer possible.
The march came after about a month of protests against the construction of a huge water storage facility in western France, which witnessed violent clashes between opponents of the project and the security forces. Three people were seriously injured and the police were accused of using excessive force.
In the Tarn department, environmentalists also opposed planning to build a dam in 2014. The body of 21-year-old environmental activist Rémy Frais was found at his construction site after clashes between opponents and the police. After five months, the construction project was finally abandoned and the environmental activists ended the occupation of the site after 16 months.
