LA good-natured atmosphere prevails in the water village. In this temporary and alternative camp set up for several days in the center of the village of Deux-Sévrian, the police nevertheless control all entrances and exits. All visitors, including journalists, are subjected to the same treatment: identity check, bag search. Goodbye little Swiss army knife, Opinel snack and FFP2 mask. “If you had physiological serum against tear gas, they would also confiscate it,” the rally participant explained.
LA good-natured atmosphere prevails in the water village. In this temporary and alternative camp set up for several days in the center of the village of Deux-Sévrian, the police nevertheless control all entrances and exits. All visitors, including journalists, are subjected to the same treatment: identity check, bag search. Goodbye, little Swiss army knife, Opinel snack and FFP2 mask. “If you had physiological serum against tear gas, they would also confiscate it,” the participant of the rally explained.
Indeed, at the decision of the prefecture and at the request of the prosecutor, any material that obstructs the work of law enforcement agencies is likely to be confiscated. “It’s broad, but it shows how much they fear us,” warns a veteran of these mobilizations.
“On Tuesday, the police even banned us from using umbrellas and umbrellas, this happened on Wednesday, someone should understand how ridiculous this is,” said Agathe Saintaise, a member of the CGT and close to the League of Human Rights. Male. Some, more intelligent, arrived in advance to avoid checks, while others emphasized the attention of the local gendarmes, as opposed to the police sent to the area.
There is no confusion
On Wednesday lunchtime we meet families with children, young people in their 20s, as well as retirees in their 70s, Anglo-Saxons, Spaniards, Italians, all of whom have one thing in common: basin control and water conservation. The organization is efficient, there is no confusion, the program is rich: seminars, conferences, shows; The meeting reflects on the issues of ecological transition and the social changes caused by it. Overhead, a law enforcement drone, engine whistling, regularly captures the scene.
At Water Village, we are also preparing to host events this Friday, July 19 at noon in the Saint-Sauvant forest in Vienna. This is where the next basin project can begin in September. And this Saturday, July 20, a second mobilization was announced in La Rochelle from 10 a.m. in the port of La Pallice. Activists are offered multilingual training on how to prepare for police checks and surveillance, police weapons and physical risk reduction. In a nearby field, groups practice peacefully demonstrating and protecting themselves from jets of foam cubes and pool chips. “After seeing the pictures of Saint-Soline, I also found people who were there, they were amazed, describes the saintly teacher who is sympathetic to the environment, “it scares me, so I will not go to the actions.”
“Protect yourself and stay alive”
Agnes, 46, arrived from the Pyrenees on Tuesday night. He joined the local committee of the Earth Rebellions in June 2023, following an attempt by Interior Minister Gerald Darmani to disband the collective. “It made me angry, and for some it made me want to fight through the appropriation of water or natural resources.” As for the fear of violence this weekend, as in Sainte-Soline in March 2023, the forty-year-old others, especially during the mobilization against the A 69 motorway project, said: “When the state protects exploitation, it promotes domination, it mistreats us. Violence is on their side. We can only defend ourselves and survive. »
Many people encountered in the Water Village deplore the Interior Minister’s repressive ruthlessness and belligerent vocabulary. “The more we portray green activists as dangerous, radical people, the more it strengthens our unity and resistance, the more government propaganda unites us and harms them,” the anti-watershed claims.
“It’s almost over for Darmanin to be a minister, it’s his last act, so maybe he wants to be an example with us,” said Julia and Salma, in their thirties from Marseille and Paris. “Nobody forces us to demonstrate or put ourselves in danger by the police, everyone is free and knows the risks,” they rage.
In fact, about fifty observers from the League of Human Rights take turns to observe police or protestor excesses in the Water Village as well as on the demonstration grounds.