2023-06-17 19:11:03
Opponents of construction of the Lyon-Turin high-speed rail line were determined to demonstrate this Saturday in Maurienne (Savoie), despite a strong police presence. Some 5,000 activists, according to the organizers, more than 3,000 according to the authorities, flocked to the valley at the call of a dozen organizations, including the Uprisings of the Earth, threatened with dissolution by the Ministry of the Interior, and the Italian No-Tav, to protest against the “pharaonic” construction site deemed “harmful” for the environment, biodiversity and water resources.
At the start of the afternoon, the first clashes broke out between demonstrators – “a group of 300 radicals formed into a black bloc” according to the prefecture – and the police. According to our special correspondent who followed the procession in Savoie, opponents threw stones and the gendarmes responded with tear gas, blocking the passage of the procession. At least five people were injured, in particular by disencirclement grenades. They were immediately taken care of by the “medics”, the volunteer first aiders among the demonstrators.
Protesters then invaded the nearby railway line, while train traffic was stopped due to the situation in the early afternoon, according to the SNCF. A fire broke out shortly before 4 p.m. on the sidelines of the procession.
Around 5 p.m., as the procession began to flow back, a few dozen activists, blocked on a secondary road because they had failed to negotiate a route with the authorities, crossed the Arc River to join the highway on the other side. , holding hands to resist the strong current. The police quickly intervened to chase them from the highway, using tear gas, while the bulk of the demonstrators booed them from the other bank nearby.
After this incident, the opponents gradually turned around to return to the base camp in the neighboring town of La Chapelle, outside the perimeter prohibited by the prefecture, leaving behind improvised barricades in flames.
During a press briefing given at the end of the day, François Ravier, prefect of Savoie, reported seven minor injuries among the police and one minor injury, “in the calf”, on the side of the demonstrators. The latter was taken care of by the services of Sdis.
“We will not be intimidated”
The procession had moved off calmly in the middle of the day under a strong sun. The departure of this undeclared demonstration took place from the neighboring town of La Chapelle, located outside the prefectural prohibition perimeter. “We are all eco-terrorists,” some shouted, as herds of cows watched the parade go by, colorfully dressed in many blue outfits – the “dress code” of the protest. Some were hooded in black, others wore helmets, snowshoes or umbrellas – useful against drones, smoke bombs or law enforcement assaults.
“Today is a historic moment in this valley (…) there are a lot of people from all over France, Italy and even Switzerland”, rejoiced Philippe Delhomme, former local elected official who has been campaigning since. years within the association “Vivre et act en Maurienne (VAM).
“We are very happy with this mobilization which was a difficult bet to take (…), we will not let ourselves be intimidated (…), it is here that there is the future and not in a deadly project and completely overtaken by history,” said Lorenzo, of the Italian No Tav movement, mobilized for years against the project piloted by Brussels.
A hundred weapons and objects confiscated
The cops announced on Twitter that a hundred weapons and blunt or explosive objects had been confiscated from the militants.
All the prohibition orders issued by the prefecture of Savoie on nine municipalities in the valley have been confirmed for security reasons by the administrative court of Grenoble, according to a source at the Ministry of the Interior. The police, who were expecting up to 5,000 activists including some “400 radical elements”, feared above all the actions of small refractory groups, according to a police source.
About fifty people under administrative ban from the territory were arrested, according to the prefecture of Savoie. Five buses of Italian activists, about 280 people, also remained blocked at the border.
Project supported by the EU
Supported by the European Union, the new line should eventually link Lyon and Turin, with 70% of the tracks in France and 30% in Italy, and a 57.5 km tunnel crossing the Alps between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Susa. Estimated cost: more than 26 billion euros.
Proponents of the project highlight the need to reduce the flow of heavy goods vehicles, which is constantly increasing, to limit greenhouse gas emissions. They also point to the economic development that they believe a faster rail line will allow.
Opponents argue that a line already exists and that rail freight has been falling steadily in recent years. They also denounce the ecological impacts of this “titanic railway project, involving the drilling of 260 km of galleries through the Alpine massifs”. According to them, the work has already dried up several springs and catchments in the valley.
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