The events that took place in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) on October 29 made
noise in the national but also international press. Alternative Libertaire spokewith the spokesperson of the Collectif Bassines Non Merci 79, Jean-JacquesGuillet, to understand how this little corner of Deux-Sèvres has become a centralpoint in the national ecological struggle. ---- The events that took place inSainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) on October 29 made noise in the national but alsointernational press. A demonstration against the construction of megabasins (hugewater reservoirs filled in winter with water pumped from the groundwater, toirrigate crops in summer). Some 7,000 people gathered. The state, for its part,sent 1,700 gendarmes and 6 helicopters to defend the site. A hole in the groundof 16 hectares, which promises to store 720,000 m3 of water. AlternativeLibertaire spoke with the spokesperson of the Collectif Bassines Non Merci 79,Jean-Jacques Guillet, to understand how this little corner of Deux-Sèvres hasbecome a central point in the national ecological struggle.Alternative Libertaire: The events in Sainte-Soline are, for a large part of thepopulation, the first opportunity to hear about the fight against the bedpans.But this fight has been going on for a long time, especially in Vendée, wheremany basins have already been built. Where does this idea of building these waterreservoirs come from, who supports it and how long has the Collectif Bassines NonMerci 79 existed?Jean-Jacques Guillet: Our collective has existed for five years, but the firstbasins were built in the 1990s, because after the drought of 1976, the Stateauthorized withdrawals from the water table for anyone who wanted to, withoutasking the question of whether we had enough water. Very quickly, the rivers weredried up, for longer and longer. In the 2000s, those who organized landconsolidation, drainage and drainage, in particular the State, had the idea ofmaking basins (which were entirely co-financed with the general councils, thechamber of agriculture, and the FNSEA).These constructions were notably facilitated by the loss, by the Marais Poitevin,of its status as a regional natural park, due to the reversal of 50% of thepeerages in favor of the cultivation of wheat and corn. On these basins today inthe Vendée, the samples are so strong that we see that the aquifers are no longerfilling up. We reach the summer level in the spring.There are also drinking water problems. Those who caused this situation admitthat there is a problem with drawing from the aquifers because it dries up therivers, and as a result, the solution for them is to draw in winter when theaquifers are full. Indeed they see the water table as a tank of undergroundwater, but in reality it is much more complicated than that. And all this to feedan industrial system, and with public money."Today, we have 1,000 km of dry rivers"It is the Coop de l'eau 79 (a group of farmers in a cooperative) that is leadingthis project. To give some figures, on the territory of the Water Coop (the SèvreNiortaise basin) before the project of the 16 basins planned, on average wealready extracted 11 million cubic meters in the environment. Today we have 1,000km of dry rivers. In theory, withdrawals should be below 11 million cubic meters.However, the Coop's project is now 14.5 million cubic meters because we would"take" in winter.AL: In Deux-Sèvres, a real coalition has formed against this project. What hasbeen the impact of the support of other environmental associations, including theUprisings of the Earth, in this fight ?Jean-Jacques Guillet: The department of Deux-Sèvres has been a land of strugglefor a long time, since Protestantism. But there were also other struggles, suchas the one against incinerators for example, and against the burial of nuclearwaste in the Gâtine (struggle in the north of the department which took place atthe end of the 1980s).When we approached the Uprisings of the Earth (many of which are old men andwomen from Notre-Dame-des-Landes), we really wanted to demonstrate that we werein a situation of "non-sharing" of the water. The arrival of the Uprisings was abreath of fresh air: for all those who defend an ecological cause, the questionof water is central, it is a catalyst. They brought us their experiences, fromtheir youth. All these associations, these young people, it is their future thatis at stake. They don't want to talk anymore.AL: An article appeared in the New York Times after the Sainte-Solinedemonstration, announcing that "the water war" had started in France. Could thefinancialization of natural resources be the root of this conflict?Jean-Jacques Guillet: Agri-food interests are behind these projects. And what isalso interesting is the fact that land that can be watered sees its priceincrease. But water is a common and public good. It is written in the law, andthe law sets priorities in the uses, the first of which is drinking water, thesecond the preservation of wetlands which store and clean up water, and finally,only if we have answered for the first two uses, we can think of "economic" water.And what we see is that the state does not respect its own law. We cannot emptythe rivers, we need measuring points, a minimum flow. There this year, 1,000 kmdried up, and we continued to irrigate this summer thanks to prefectural derogations.Tobacco always has derogations for example, and the president of the Coop del'eau makes tobacco, so he had the right to water. The same goes for cornintended for animal feed. They are constant lies.AL: The State has clearly chosen its side in this war, because it finances theconstruction of these basins up to 70%. What kind of funding are these?Jean-Jacques Guillet: The funding goes through the Water Agencies[1], and thismoney is taken from the invoices, so it is the taxpayer who pays. These agenciesare in fact the region. They are normally intended to finance sanitation anddrinking water networks, not basins. But here it is the water agencies thatfinance. They contribute 40 of the total 60 million of the project.There is also a diversion of European money. To do this, because European moneycannot directly finance the basins, the Coop de l'eau has created a CUMA withinthe cooperative for the purchase of irrigation equipment, and the region supportsthis CUMA thanks to these European funds. There is therefore a misappropriationof public money, to monopolize a common good."5% of farmers monopolize privileges"The five municipalities along the first section of the Sèvre Niortaise, chosenfor the construction of basins, were not chosen by chance. In Mauzé, for example,it is the son of the first deputy mayor who takes the opportunity to irrigate hisfields. In Val-du-Mignon it is the son of the mayor who will benefit from it, andin Epannes it is a deputy of the previous council, and who is also the presidentof the FNSEA 79 who benefits from it. In Sainte-Soline, where the lastdemonstration took place, the biggest sampler of the future basin is the firstdeputy of the previous council.AL: What will be the impact of this war on the relationship between conventionalfarmers and those who move towards more sustainable models in the future? Are weheading towards two irreconcilable agricultural systems? In Deux-Sèvres forexample, do we see tensions within the agricultural community?Jean-Jacques Guillet: There is no fairness. It is 5% of farmers who monopolizeprivileges.The day the aid stops, the agro-industrial model, embodied by monoculture farmerswho want to appropriate the water after having appropriated the soil, willcollapse. Indeed, the yields reach a plateau or even decrease and all the costsincrease, at some point the aid will stop, and their system will collapse.Climate change and lack of water will speed things up. We will have to go back tobasics. 90% of agriculture in the world is local agriculture, adapted to thelocal system. It is a mafia supported by the state. They are thieves of water andpublic money. They steal public money and a common good, and they walk around asif they had done nothing.AL: On your side, several appeals have also been brought against the project. Butcan we still trust state institutions, especially with regard to ecocide projectssuch as basins?Jean-Jacques Guillet: The problem is that we are dealing with a mafia state. InCharente-Maritime, for example, five basins were condemned by the courts fivetimes. They are illegal. But each time justice says it too late. We cannot acceptthese samples, which do not serve the general interest, without having assessedthe effects on nature beforehand.We called on Europe, but it takes forever. Each time justice gives us reason, butthe prefects give the exemptions to finish the project quickly, and in addition,give the exemptions to continue to fill, even if it is illegal.AL: What balance between legal struggle, that is to say legitimized by the state,and more direct action, such as the demonstrations in Sainte-Soline that thestate wanted to make illegal? Have the Zads, for example, become a necessity inprotracted ecological struggles?Jean-Jacques Guillet: I'm fed up. The attitude of the State is to send more andmore gendarmes. There are always more people in the demonstrations, 5,000,10,000, they are not people who have come to break up, but exasperated people.The attitude of the state is to talk about violence, but violence is engenderedby contempt for the state. They are the ones who create it.Before starting the basins, public surveys showed that 80% of the population wasagainst, that it was better to store water underground. We despise people, wetake them for fools.AL: A Zad in Sainte-Soline?Jean-Jacques Guillet: A Zad in Sainte-Soline was not suitable because there is nobocage. Sainte-Soline is in the middle of the plain, there are no more hedges. AZad in Sainte-Soline would weaken the movement more than anything, we cannot takerefuge in the plain. The basins are also scattered, and therefore we cannot makea ZAD at each basin. The place has to be suitable.AL: You have announced an upcoming event that will take place at the end of March2023. Do you plan to do a national tour beforehand?Jean-Jacques Guillet: Big things are planned yes, public meetings everywhere toannounce this demonstration. We are not going to say it today, because until thena basin can start in Charente or Vienne. A few days before we don't know if we'retaking plan A or B or C. We're always in something new because we have to surprise.Interview by Niels (UCL Angers)To validate[1]The Water Agencies are public administrative establishments (EPA) whichcollect fees from users to redistribute them in the form of financial aid for"actions of common interest" - in their missions, the fight against waterpollution and conservation...https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Jean-Jacques-Guillet-Bassines-Non-Merci-L-arrivee-des-Soulevements-a-ete-une_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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