(en) France, Organisation Communiste Libertarie (OCL) - Courant Alternatif, CA #238 - Anti-airport by force! (fr)

On 22 February, the opposition movement to draft Notre-Dame-des-Landes brought together 
tens of thousands of people in the streets of Nantes. ---- If you're not going to ZAD, ZAD 
will come to you! ... ---- During the autumn the project's supporters led an offensive 
communication with many statements, saying loud and clear that the work was imminent, 
enjoying sweeping obscure and inane recalcitrant es to future happiness associated with 
their project. The prefect .., well trained, even signed the Mandate December 21, 
despising all the arguments of the opposition. In response to this practice of fait 
accompli, suspensive appeals have been filed and the demonstration of February 22 was 
prepared, in turn causing a general effervescence indicating the probable strength of the 
mobilization. Dice mid-January meeting of local committees was full and posters went like 
hotcakes. It was not disappointed! And the prefect either: his offensive communication 
autumn cauliflower was white!

On 22 February, the farming community moved en masse to Nantes including 520 tractors from 
the Loire Atlantique and neighboring departments: the previous mobilization Nantes, March 
24, 2012, had collected nearly 200. This proves that if necessary the movement becomes 
more and more momentum. Better, a survey FIFG revealed the same day that 56% of the 
population is against the hexagonal airport, 20% not ruling and 24%. For our politician ne 
es s always fond of polls, the revelation of such a view would make febrile when their 
popularity rating hesitates between the Titanic forbearance and the raft of the Medusa ...

The different groups to support anti-airport and individuals struggle were involved in the 
initiative of 22, preparing multiple tanks and masks, banners and placards to animate the 
procession and bringing their own claims. These postings showed a broadening of concerns 
beyond the strict combat Notre Dame des Landes, including speaking solidarity with other 
struggles against infrastructure projects (No TAV rail tunnel project Lyon-Turin) but also 
a comprehensive review linking the airport project and the organization of society as a 
whole and may display well beyond the small procession anticapitalist we had made (see 
call text in CA n 237).

A fighting spirit

The festive atmosphere was also combative: the various "events" that took place from the 
first meters of the procession received the approval of a large majority of those present, 
whether the tags, stencils and other daubs targeted facades (mayor Vinci Real Estate, 
Travel agency in Nantes, ...) or more "identified" as the sacking of Vinci agency actions, 
the burning of a drill and a digger of Vinci Construction, wisely left within reach of the 
procession (?). Except for a few indignant spectators, these well-chosen targets allow 
everyone to express e-according to its possibilities and met largely the ranks of 
protesters, which is not disbanded during loads and various grenadages that followed. This 
determination of the demonstrators is necessary to affirm the resolution opposing es not 
falter before the maneuvers of the state and not just rely on institutional maneuvers. The 
day ended in a little chopped between different pieces of the procession gassed or 
ventured into an unlikely route on the Isle of Nantes. Presumably the 40 000 participants 
were reached but there was only the helicopter cops who had a bigger picture ...

The event was clearly displayed on the left, supported horizontally on local collectives 
very present with EELV and PG parties and unions discrete Conf?d?ration Paysanne. She 
reoccupied the street against a project strongly associated with the Socialist Party, 
supported by a few days earlier Breton employers Club des Trente (Bollor?, Pinault, 
Leclerc, Roche, owner of Intermarket, ...) project! As a response to mobilizations cathos 
and reactionaries of all kinds of AKI for all or Day of Wrath in late January and early 
February, the anti airport event opened in the city a premier antagonistic space could 
translate anger and revolt against this company TINA (There Is No Alternative) so dear to 
Thatcher and so internalized by institutional and productivist French left.

Prefecture and media maneuvering

In this long struggle, the project leaders would not admit defeat so easily. The police 
presence almost 1,500 police banned the commercial city center with numerous riot gates 
barring the route originally planned. Then it did not take much effort the police to fix a 
central point of confrontation, as a dedicated space - without too many objectives to 
destroy, well filmed - and so arranged that cut the flow of manifesting es, preventing a 
late final reunion ... which could emphasize the success of the mobilization. With an 
arsenal including water cannons, the cops drove gradually protesters most bold-es to the 
end of the day.

The prefecture, Ministry of the Interior, the Mayor, President of the incredible region 
... and even then Ayrault tried to retract the magnitude and direction of the 
mobilization, focusing on the "excesses", the responsibility the organizational structures 
of the parade for the inconvenience and finally breaks the ambiguity of the simultaneous 
presence of the headquarters of the ruling party in the street. This media avalanche 
literally escamotait magnitude, intensity and direction of mobilization, even concealing 
the 20 injured protesters hospitalized side, including three seriously. Breakage of a 
window is apparently more important than eye popped for editorial managers. For the state 
and the PS, it was unwise to draw the necessary conclusions logic: pure and simple 
abandonment of a project denounced as an aberration. Valls, in the footsteps of 
Alliot-Marie even exhumed the ultra-left and the black blocks from abroad ... (which is 
pretty croquignolet, when the state celebrates the memory of the red poster and me).

Project leaders then tried to bring maximum pressure on the spokesmen and representatives 
of coordination, always trying to divide the movement. Degradation on the whole limited to 
a dozen shops, street furniture and bus shelters bus (be aware that falls every day 4 or 5 
on the entire city ...) and pavement lines tram is then transformed into a "rampage 
downtown, devastated." This is not bearing fruit. Indeed the press release on Sunday by 
organizing the event, visible on the site of the ZAD, refused any dissociation and assumed 
a diversity of tactics and practices of the movement. The mayor announced Monday that he 
filed a complaint, the damage no longer amounted to 300,000 but less than one million 
euros, he encouraged everyone to file a complaint against the organizers ... Faced with 
captivating images of injuries demonstrators circulating on the net, the cops discovered 
130 wounded and bruised eight hospitalized. The media noise was such that some 
anti-airport structures ended by release of hazardous releases to release the pressure: 
the fault of the police that have left to do, the fault of suburban youth who came to 
break the fault 200 thugs who allegedly kidnapped ... These anti-airport components should 
nevertheless recognize that it is not making the round back we pushed back the state, but 
banging his fist on the table, especially when was 56% of the population behind when we 
mobilize tens of thousands of people in the street and when the resistance in the field 
has shown that it rainbow bouterait whether to do it again. Local committees to support 
the struggle of Notre Dame des Landes fortunately kept a cool head and co-authored a press 
release after replacing the real issues such mobilization (see below against the insert 
with the press and the list 26 committees signatories).

What possible perspective?

Behind the hype around the so-called excessive violence used by Saturday between Nantes-es 
at the airport, as political actors or prefectural Auxiette as Lapouse urge a coup against 
the occupation of the ZAD. But this risky decision could very well turn against its 
initiators in case something goes wrong and send early retirement a Prime Minister who is 
the lowest for his popularity and stopping a little a president who comes to see 
unemployment rise to the third consecutive month.

It seems more likely that another perspective stands out as the leader of the EELV evoked 
group in the Senate, JF Placed. As part of a cabinet reshuffle more likely with a narrow 
government, a large Department of the wider environment, which would manage the transport, 
told S?gol?ne Royal with a State Secretariat for Placed could renegotiate the top the 
abandonment of the Notre Dame des Landes, in exchange for EPR projects on old nuclear 
sites, it certainly does not displease the Greens (who have agreed to launch the EPR 
Regional Council of Normandy in 2003), lobby BTP and Vinci, it would be consistent with 
the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and departing the Lower Loire a situation become 
inextricable ...

Nantes, Thursday, Feb. 27.

BOX 1

PRESS RELEASE INTER-COMMITTEES TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING NDDL MANIF OF 02/22/2014

We support committees struggle NDDL throughout France and beyond, fully support the 
position expressed in the press release on Sunday, February 23, organizers / trainers of 
the manifestation of Saturday, February 22, 2014 in Nantes (cf the site of the ZAD).

We wish to acknowledge the undeniable success of the rally and our pleasure to be involved.

A popular demonstration, powerful, dignified. This is a strong emphasize between urban and 
agricultural convergence world!

We are especially regonfl?.es motiv?.es and suites for mobilization that day event has a 
time of reunion and exchange and allowed us to take the measure of our strength and our 
support.

And especially convaincu.es that given the mobilization continues to expand year after 
year, stopping the project can not be inevitable as, despite the propaganda would have us 
believe otherwise. This event as the struggles we are involved here and there against the 
big and small projects imposed harmful tells us or we confirm where real violence comes 
from and how it is manipulated by the powerful, industrial, financial, government and media-s.

We deplore the excessive police presence in the streets of Nantes on Saturday 22 and we 
give our support to those of us who were bless?.es during interventions forces. We will 
not let ourselves wrong. uni.es. We are and will remain

Support committees will continue actions to inform the public about issues of defense and 
the Zad consider, depending on the evolution of the situation, the necessary opposition to 
airport actions. When working on Zad, committees recall their particular stand ready to 
answer the call by opponents: bringing reinforcement on site, block Vinci, its allies and 
its subcontractors by all means deemed necessary and occupy places of power where they are.

Resistance!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Signatories to the committees February 26, 2014: Committee NDDL 18 (Bourges) Collective 
Alsace NDDL Committee NDDL 4B16 Collective NDDL Centre Finist?re Committee NDDL - Saclay 
Committee Troyes (Aube, 10, Champagne) Comit? R?gional Nord-Pas de Calais Collective 
solidarity ZAD Rouen NDDL NDDL Pleudaniel Committee, C?tes d'Armor bigouden Committee 
Support Committee Challans Northwest Vend?e (85) NDDL Committee 92 South CNCA (Nantais 
Collective Against Airport) Committee of Lisieux (14) Collective N?mes (30) Collective 
NDDL Beauvais (60) NDDL Committee Challans (85) Committee Nort Nozay (44) of Comminges 
(south of the Haute-Garonne 31) Collective Collective IDF NDDL Quimper Cornwall (29) 
Committee NDDL Saint-Malo (35) Collective of the Committee Against the University of 
Nantes Airport (Cunca) Support Committee 79 opponents at the airport NDDL Committee 
Poitevin NDDL Committee NDDL St Brieuc (22)