To fight against the digitalization of our lives, the pollution and
destruction caused by extractivism and chip factories, and the use of
new technologies in industries of death, it is important to both debate
and demonstrate. ---- We will review recent rallies and demonstrations
that took place in different regions. Of varying scale, they complement
each other well and provide an opportunity for convergence of struggles.
---- Water, Not Chips ---- Meetings ---- The Stop Micro association
organized a symposium and meetings in Grenoble from March 28th to 30th,
along with the Earth Uprisings, followed by a demonstration. The
symposium obviously focused in part on chip factories, their enormous
water consumption, their release of pollutants, and their territorial
voracity. The military use of these chips was also discussed,
particularly their use by Israel against Palestinian populations.
On Friday, a significant amount of time was devoted to extractivism,
with international speakers (Quebec, Argentina, Congo, Portugal). The
debate on extractivism in the Americas clearly demonstrated the
connection between colonialism, disregard for indigenous peoples, and
mining. It highlighted the difficulties the affected populations face in
defending themselves. The debate on the Congo shed light on the
connection between extractivism and civil war.
Another benefit of these meetings was the richness and diversity of the
discussions held on Saturday. The village of associations and
collectives brought together dozens of groups under marquees. This
allowed everyone to share information about their own actions and
distribute brochures and books. Having come from Limousin for the June
15 Committee, we did not regret making the trip.
We can only regret two points. The first was the undersized premises,
which prevented all participants from attending the discussions they
would have liked. The second was the differences that emerged within
Stop-Micro following the (majority) decision to co-organize these days
with the Earth Uprising movement. Some Stop-Micro members felt
dispossessed of their struggle; they were able to express this,
particularly through a specific banner during the Sunday demonstration.
The Demonstration
The demonstration was deliberately declared festive, with costumes, a
marching band and batucada, clowns, songs, and the presence of Bassines
Non Merci with their otter. It took place in the Bernin and Crolles
industrial zone, where the STmicro and Soitec factories are planning to
expand their footprints on farmland to produce ever more chips.
Negotiations with the authorities must have borne fruit for everything
to proceed calmly: substantial police supervision, with searches of some
vehicles upon arrival, but no attempts to block or engage in confrontation.
It should be noted that the goal was not to block an imminent project;
it was to reiterate our opposition to the expansion plans for these two
factories, which have already been suspended. A highlight at the end of
the demonstration was the erection of a wooden lookout in the farmer's
field threatened by Soitec's expansion project.
The demonstration brought together nearly 3,000 people and was quite
long due to the multiple stops. During the weekend, numerous banners and
spectacular posters were displayed in Grenoble and its surrounding area.
Obviously, the mayor of Grenoble didn't show up; this so-called
environmentalist is pro-electronics.
A parallel action. While the demonstration focused police attention on
Crolles and Bernin, another group was carrying out a disarmament action
at another electronic chip factory, Télédyne e2v, in Saint-Egrève, on
the other side of the Isère metropolitan area. This factory actually
produces chips used by the Israeli army. This intervention group, dubbed
the CEA (Essentially Anti-Flea Committee) for the occasion, managed to
enter the site, cut power cables, and redecorate the reception area with
red paint.
Protests against extractivism
Quartz in Thiviers
The "Gardarem Razac" demonstration on March 29 in Thiviers (Dordogne),
against the expansion of the quartz quarry operated by Imerys in Razac,
at the place called Pierrefiche, brought together 250 people. The route
began in the center of Thiviers, where leaflet distribution and a show
were organized at the market, followed by a 6-km march to Pierrefiche,
the site of the quarry currently being expanded. The demonstration
concluded with a mock trial of Imerys.
Collectives from across France were present; they are also fighting
against Imerys' exploitation of "specialty minerals" (rather than
metals) in their territories: Stop Mines 03, against the lithium mine;
the Collective Against Extractivism 03-63; the Nouvialle Collective
(Cantal) fighting against a diatomite quarry project and for the defense
of the Nouvialle Narse, a threatened wetland; Stop Mines 87-24 (see
below); and the Glomel Collective (Côtes d'Armor) fighting against the
opening of Pit 4 of the Andalusite quarry. This was followed by an
inter-collective meeting to discuss the strategy to be adopted in the
fight against Imerys. Tungsten in Ariège
An assembly against mining projects in Ariège and elsewhere has been
meeting approximately monthly since December 15, 2024, to launch the
fight against the resumption of tungsten mining in Ariège. The assembly
includes individuals as well as members of the Stop Mines Salau
association. On April 18, a letter from the Prefect of Ariège informed
the public that the application for an exclusive exploration permit
submitted by the company Néométal was admissible and will lead to a
public consultation by the summer. The application concerns such
precious metals as tungsten (used as a hardener for metal alloys in
shell heads, military vehicle armor, and walking stick tips), but also
gold, copper, tin, bismuth, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and silver. Tungsten
was already mined until 1983 in Couflens, at a place called Salau.
Having left 1,000,000 cubic meters of polluted waste in the Salat
Valley, it caused the death of several mine workers due to contact with
asbestos naturally present in the mined rock.
The area covered by this new permit extends across four municipalities
and covers nearly 100 km².
A large demonstration against mining projects in Ariège and elsewhere
has been called for May 24 at 2:30 p.m. in Foix by the protest assembly.
Gold in Haute-Vienne
Four exploration permits are currently in progress in Haute-Vienne and
Dordogne: those of CMA (Compagnie des mines arédiennes) and that of
Aurélius Ressources. The same people are behind these two Canadian
companies (which want to pass themselves off as local). The permits
total an area of 400 km²... for Gold, but also all the accompanying
metals (silver, antimony, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, lithium, niobium,
tantalum, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, bismuth, beryllium, cobalt,
germanium, indium, platinum, rare earths). Geological exploration
drilling began in March, and the Mineral Industry Society came to hold a
study meeting at the former Bourneix gold mine in Chalard the same
month. Faced with this acceleration, a demonstration took place on March
25 in Chalard to inform the participants of the SIM meeting that mining
was not welcome. On April 19 in Saint Yrieix, a new demonstration took
place against the launch of exploration drilling on the Lauriéras site.
Despite the rain, it brought together 350 people, local residents,
farmers and supporters from the rest of the department. The Stop Mines
collective had chosen to hold a calm, non-radical "citizen"
demonstration in order to attract a broad audience. However, the vast
majority of the demonstrators were activists, and given the weather, we
didn't encounter many "citizens" of Saint-Yrieix.
ADMC
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4442
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
destruction caused by extractivism and chip factories, and the use of
new technologies in industries of death, it is important to both debate
and demonstrate. ---- We will review recent rallies and demonstrations
that took place in different regions. Of varying scale, they complement
each other well and provide an opportunity for convergence of struggles.
---- Water, Not Chips ---- Meetings ---- The Stop Micro association
organized a symposium and meetings in Grenoble from March 28th to 30th,
along with the Earth Uprisings, followed by a demonstration. The
symposium obviously focused in part on chip factories, their enormous
water consumption, their release of pollutants, and their territorial
voracity. The military use of these chips was also discussed,
particularly their use by Israel against Palestinian populations.
On Friday, a significant amount of time was devoted to extractivism,
with international speakers (Quebec, Argentina, Congo, Portugal). The
debate on extractivism in the Americas clearly demonstrated the
connection between colonialism, disregard for indigenous peoples, and
mining. It highlighted the difficulties the affected populations face in
defending themselves. The debate on the Congo shed light on the
connection between extractivism and civil war.
Another benefit of these meetings was the richness and diversity of the
discussions held on Saturday. The village of associations and
collectives brought together dozens of groups under marquees. This
allowed everyone to share information about their own actions and
distribute brochures and books. Having come from Limousin for the June
15 Committee, we did not regret making the trip.
We can only regret two points. The first was the undersized premises,
which prevented all participants from attending the discussions they
would have liked. The second was the differences that emerged within
Stop-Micro following the (majority) decision to co-organize these days
with the Earth Uprising movement. Some Stop-Micro members felt
dispossessed of their struggle; they were able to express this,
particularly through a specific banner during the Sunday demonstration.
The Demonstration
The demonstration was deliberately declared festive, with costumes, a
marching band and batucada, clowns, songs, and the presence of Bassines
Non Merci with their otter. It took place in the Bernin and Crolles
industrial zone, where the STmicro and Soitec factories are planning to
expand their footprints on farmland to produce ever more chips.
Negotiations with the authorities must have borne fruit for everything
to proceed calmly: substantial police supervision, with searches of some
vehicles upon arrival, but no attempts to block or engage in confrontation.
It should be noted that the goal was not to block an imminent project;
it was to reiterate our opposition to the expansion plans for these two
factories, which have already been suspended. A highlight at the end of
the demonstration was the erection of a wooden lookout in the farmer's
field threatened by Soitec's expansion project.
The demonstration brought together nearly 3,000 people and was quite
long due to the multiple stops. During the weekend, numerous banners and
spectacular posters were displayed in Grenoble and its surrounding area.
Obviously, the mayor of Grenoble didn't show up; this so-called
environmentalist is pro-electronics.
A parallel action. While the demonstration focused police attention on
Crolles and Bernin, another group was carrying out a disarmament action
at another electronic chip factory, Télédyne e2v, in Saint-Egrève, on
the other side of the Isère metropolitan area. This factory actually
produces chips used by the Israeli army. This intervention group, dubbed
the CEA (Essentially Anti-Flea Committee) for the occasion, managed to
enter the site, cut power cables, and redecorate the reception area with
red paint.
Protests against extractivism
Quartz in Thiviers
The "Gardarem Razac" demonstration on March 29 in Thiviers (Dordogne),
against the expansion of the quartz quarry operated by Imerys in Razac,
at the place called Pierrefiche, brought together 250 people. The route
began in the center of Thiviers, where leaflet distribution and a show
were organized at the market, followed by a 6-km march to Pierrefiche,
the site of the quarry currently being expanded. The demonstration
concluded with a mock trial of Imerys.
Collectives from across France were present; they are also fighting
against Imerys' exploitation of "specialty minerals" (rather than
metals) in their territories: Stop Mines 03, against the lithium mine;
the Collective Against Extractivism 03-63; the Nouvialle Collective
(Cantal) fighting against a diatomite quarry project and for the defense
of the Nouvialle Narse, a threatened wetland; Stop Mines 87-24 (see
below); and the Glomel Collective (Côtes d'Armor) fighting against the
opening of Pit 4 of the Andalusite quarry. This was followed by an
inter-collective meeting to discuss the strategy to be adopted in the
fight against Imerys. Tungsten in Ariège
An assembly against mining projects in Ariège and elsewhere has been
meeting approximately monthly since December 15, 2024, to launch the
fight against the resumption of tungsten mining in Ariège. The assembly
includes individuals as well as members of the Stop Mines Salau
association. On April 18, a letter from the Prefect of Ariège informed
the public that the application for an exclusive exploration permit
submitted by the company Néométal was admissible and will lead to a
public consultation by the summer. The application concerns such
precious metals as tungsten (used as a hardener for metal alloys in
shell heads, military vehicle armor, and walking stick tips), but also
gold, copper, tin, bismuth, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and silver. Tungsten
was already mined until 1983 in Couflens, at a place called Salau.
Having left 1,000,000 cubic meters of polluted waste in the Salat
Valley, it caused the death of several mine workers due to contact with
asbestos naturally present in the mined rock.
The area covered by this new permit extends across four municipalities
and covers nearly 100 km².
A large demonstration against mining projects in Ariège and elsewhere
has been called for May 24 at 2:30 p.m. in Foix by the protest assembly.
Gold in Haute-Vienne
Four exploration permits are currently in progress in Haute-Vienne and
Dordogne: those of CMA (Compagnie des mines arédiennes) and that of
Aurélius Ressources. The same people are behind these two Canadian
companies (which want to pass themselves off as local). The permits
total an area of 400 km²... for Gold, but also all the accompanying
metals (silver, antimony, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, lithium, niobium,
tantalum, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, bismuth, beryllium, cobalt,
germanium, indium, platinum, rare earths). Geological exploration
drilling began in March, and the Mineral Industry Society came to hold a
study meeting at the former Bourneix gold mine in Chalard the same
month. Faced with this acceleration, a demonstration took place on March
25 in Chalard to inform the participants of the SIM meeting that mining
was not welcome. On April 19 in Saint Yrieix, a new demonstration took
place against the launch of exploration drilling on the Lauriéras site.
Despite the rain, it brought together 350 people, local residents,
farmers and supporters from the rest of the department. The Stop Mines
collective had chosen to hold a calm, non-radical "citizen"
demonstration in order to attract a broad audience. However, the vast
majority of the demonstrators were activists, and given the weather, we
didn't encounter many "citizens" of Saint-Yrieix.
ADMC
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4442
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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