Fifteen people were arrested in Verfeil (Haute Garonne) on Monday, October 7, during a new operation to dismantle the last area to be defended (ZAD) on the route of the A69, according to the gendarmerie.
Since Friday, excavators, dump trucks and bulldozers from the Atosca concessionaire have been accumulating earth at the foot of the two trees that still stand in the place, making accessible the cabins in which the last five “squirrels”, these anti-A69 activists, live. that occupy the -trees of the work- have found shelter since September 16, the date on which the last tenant of the land returned the keys.
One of the five “squirrels” was arrested on Monday afternoon, in addition to fourteen arrests made in the morning among supporters of these environmental activists opposed to the construction of the future highway between Castres and Toulouse, the gendarmes indicated.
evacuation order
This intervention occurs while the administrative court of Toulouse handed down a ruling on Monday ordering “to all occupants” on site “evacuate the premises”, “immediately”. “The occupation of the two trees on the disputed land hindered the continuation of the construction works on the A69 motorway declared of general interest and was detrimental to public safety”the court explained in its decision, considering “that the requested expulsion measure is urgent and useful and is not subject to serious challenge”.
Perched for three weeks, the “squirrels” remained at altitude despite numerous interventions by the National Mobility Support Unit, a unit specialized in the evacuation of hanging or hindered protesters. Last week, the activists who occupied the house on this plot of land located right on the highway route had already been evacuated.
The future A69, a 53-kilometer stretch of motorway between Toulouse and Castres, aims to open up the south of the Tarn. Environmental groups and movements denounce the destruction of wetlands, agricultural land, trees, ecosystems and groundwater, and emphasize that the current national highway was far from being saturated.
