The battle for the A69 is not over. The day after the Tarn prefecture issued a press release announcing that “The concessionaire has regained full ownership of its land in the municipality of Saïx” and so? “Deforestation operations in the Tarn department have been completely concluded,” This is the message that opponents of the 53-kilometre motorway project between Toulouse and Castres wanted to convey.
“We are committed to going all the way, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, we will not give in.” said a Zadist, with his face covered, presenting himself under the pseudonym Camille, during a press conference on Saturday 7 September in Toulouse. While on the territory of the municipality of Saïx between sixty and seventy trees have been cut down since 1Ahem September, “The battle for trees is not over, even if it is a turning point in our fight”the activist judged, denouncing a “unwavering determination”. “The predominant feelings are rage and anger. We will transform them into actions to continue resisting”he said, calling for a meeting on Sunday, September 8, in a private field, borrowed “think about what comes next”.
On Friday morning, police intervened to evict the last four occupants perched in the trees of the Cal’Arbre site, named after the zone to be defended (ZAD), located at the site called La Calarié, in Saïx, in the Tarn. “It was a surprise intervention while the “squirrels” were sleeping without a harness”testifies another opponent of the A69, with a black handkerchief over his face. “Escaping from the CNAMO gendarmes [une cellule nationale d’aide à la mobilité], Two of them fell from a height of seven metres. Our comrades were hospitalised. They were then taken into police custody before being released that evening in the countryside. » An opponent of the project is still in the branches of an oak tree in Cal’Arbre.
Tens of kilometres from Saïx, in Verfeil, a commune in the Haute-Garonne, there remains a final blockade on the route of the future motorway. Since 27 March 2023, “the orchard” has been occupied by opponents who have set up tents and huts in the garden to prevent the felling of around thirty trees. This 8,000 m² estate, which was the target of a fire on the night of 31 August to 1 August,Ahem At around 4am in September, the house has been occupied by a tenant and her young son since 2013. The latter, despite three offers of housing and a financial compensation of 20,000 euros offered by the motorway concessionaire Atosca, owner of the premises since March 2023, continues to occupy the house.
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