Environmental protection associations are calling for demonstrations this weekend against a motorway project in the Tarn. The authorities have already planned reinforced measures “to guarantee public order”.
“An aberration.” Too few daily users, destruction of biodiversity, degradation of air quality… Four environmental associations are calling on Saturday and Sunday to demonstrate in the Tarn against the A69 motorway project between Castres and Toulouse. A month after the mobilization against the mega-basins of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) – and the overflows that resulted from it – this demonstration puts the authorities on the alert, fearing damage to the site.
• What is this project?
54 kilometers of discord. This project, in the pipeline for many years, officially materialized in April 2022 when Atosca, a subsidiary of the NGE group, received the final concession contract for the motorway.
This section of motorway, costing 500 million euros, must thus link Castres (Tarn) to Verfeil (Haute-Garonne), i.e. the A68 motorway, located east of Toulouse, to the ring road of Castres, and this by 2025. The public authorities and Atosca justified the project by a need to relieve traffic congestion around these two cities, also making them safer.
“With safer journeys reduced from 25 to 35 minutes, the A69 will restrict traffic around urbanized areas,” assured Atosca.
• Why is it so contested?
Environmental protection associations quickly criticized the project, first at a local level, before spreading to the whole country. They consider the site useless and destructive of the environment.
On September 12, the National Council for the Protection of Nature issued an unfavorable opinion on the project, justifying a “contradiction with national commitments in the fight against climate change, the objective of zero net artificialisation and zero loss net of biodiversity”.
The La Voie est libre (LVEL) association was the first to take up the case before being joined by Extinction Rebellion, the Uprisings of the Earth and the Tarn Peasant Confederation.
“There will be threats to the water tables of the Tarn, destruction of wild animal environments, a lot of agricultural land which will be artificialized”, indicated to BFMTV Sandra, member of the Extinction Rébellion collective.
This Thursday morning on France Interthe journalist-activist Hugo Clément argued that “thousands of trees” were going to be razed, far from the figures claimed by those responsible for the site.
“We are going to have to cut around 200 alignment trees, but we are going to replant a total of 400 in our project”, claimed Martial Gerlinger, general manager of the concession. Atoscain charge of the project.
Recently, the Council of State, seized by France Nature Environnement (FNE), challenged a request to stop the felling of trees on the route.
• What are the organizers planning for this weekend?
“As long as we are there, the A69 will not pass! Let’s be thousands to meet us on April 22 and 23, for a big farewell party from the dealer”, communicated the organizers.
To accommodate the thousands of demonstrators, a camp was set up in the town of Saix (Tarn) on Wednesday. “The four organizers of the event (…) are delighted to be able to establish this place of life, exchanges and celebration in the perspective of the highlight of Saturday”, they specified.
This weekend, local organizers, in press releases, say they want a non-violent, “festive, friendly and informative” event and reject the idea of creating a ZAD, learned BFMTV.
They also declared the demonstration Wednesday with the prefecture of Tarn “in the name of the peasant confederation of Tarn and Attac Tarn”. But, this Thursday afternoon, the prefect of Tarn judged this declaration “imprecise” because “it does not include a sufficiently precise route, nor place of departure, nor place of arrival, nor details on the security measures implemented. by the organisers”.
• Why aren’t the authorities afraid of a new Sainte-Soline?
It is of course the security aspect that the authorities have been considering for several weeks, the chaotic episode of Sainte-Soline still remaining in everyone’s mind.
In his press release, the prefect announced a first security device reinforced by the “inaccuracies” of the upcoming event: local gendarmes, eight units of mobile forces as reinforcements, special means “classically engaged in this type of event” , a rescue system made up of 79 firefighters, personnel from Samu and civil security associations.
But, in a note of the information that BFMTV was able to consult, we understand that the demonstration does not announce itself at all like that of Sainte-Soline in March.
They expect 1500 to 2000 demonstrators and a hundred radical demonstrators. As for Sainte-Soline, the authorities counted 8,000 demonstrators (25,000 according to the organizers) and 1,000 radical demonstrators.
The information therefore envisages less violence even if “isolated degradation or sabotage” could be committed and that the companies which participate in the highway will obviously be particularly targeted. They also plan actions of civil disobedience.
