"A man is drawing a black bloc member. Nearly 5,000 people ar..."

#11317349

9 June 2024

A man is drawing a black bloc member. Nearly 5,000 people are participating in a weekend of action called 'Roue Libre' in the Tarn department against the decried highway A69 between Toulouse and Castres. The farmers' union, Confederation Paysanne, is planting trees and seeds on a portion of a field that will be destroyed by the A69 highway. Several political parties, unions, and NGOs (Attac, LVEL, Confederation Paysanne, GNSA, XR, etc.) are calling for this weekend of protest. Police are trying to block the exit from the camp to protesters. Several corteges are taking place and going to different places. Protesters are trying to reach several objectives and are being blocked by 1,200 gendarmes mobiles (riot police), two helicopters, two armored vehicles, and a deluge of tear gas canisters and explosive grenades. More than 20 protesters are being injured by riot police, and two are being driven to the hospital due to their injuries. The main association 'La Voie est Libre' (i.e., 'The Way is Free') wants the building of the highway to be stopped until all the justice decisions on the content are given. All expropriations for farmers aren't cleared. Opponents of this project say that the reprofiling of the N126 will be sufficient for the 6,000 vehicles planned per day and would cost far less money. The A69 highway will cost EUR512 million (in 2018 euros without inflation) for 54 kilometers. More than 100 protected species and 400 hectares of agricultural fields will be destroyed. Puylaurens, Tarn, France, on June 8, 2024.

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