via: attaque Translated by Act for freedom now!

Original text Indymedia Lille / Monday 6 September 2021

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A lot happened around the days of action against CIGEO in the vicinity of the Rayonnantes camp at Luméville station in August 2021. A brief review of the events and a call to intensify our resistance.

Upstream actions

Already before the Rayonnantes camp, there had been interventions by the B.O.R.I.S. group.

As part of a coordinated action, attacks in Bar-le-Duc and Nancy with paint and smashed windows targeted SAFER. The insurance company Groupama, which had joined the civil action with the commune of Bure during the 1-2-3 trials, also suffered material damage. On the railway track to be renovated between Ligny and Gondrecourt, militants sabotaged parts of the track with jacks. Graffiti and stickers in front of the camp.

In the days before the start of the action camp, there was a lot of tagging against CIGEO and about the DUP, for example in Saudron and Mandres-en-Barrois. In many neighbouring villages, stickers and posters were made to draw attention to the demonstration in Horville on 21 August, the DUP and the Rayonnantes camp.

Fire of a 5G antenna on 18.08.

A claim by “enlightened joggers” against “5G and nuclear power” was published to claim the destruction of a 5G tower near Nancy. It was burnt down in the night of 19 August.

Farmers’ action on 19.08

On Thursday, about a hundred demonstrators left the camp at Luméville station to march towards the Haute-Marne to the sounds of drums and slogans against the land expropriations threatening the region. The structure of a farm shed was erected collectively near the planned railway line. Everything happened under the eyes of the police, who were alerted late and only became aware of the protest after an hour of action.

Sabotage on 21.08.

During the day of action four processions, the fifth remaining at the camp, set off around the town of Gondrecourt-le-Château. The cops concentrated mainly on the “golden procession” and the blue “circus procession”, which gathered at the official meeting point in Horville, south of Gondrecourt, while the “purple” and “green” processions were able to gather in the village of Abainville, further north, without issue. In Horville, the prefecture had taken the precaution of removing all the decorative stones from the roadside.

After the two processions from Abainville set off, each composed of about 200 anti-nuclear militants in painter’s suits, the cops stopped the “purple finger” at the entrance to Gondrecourt. During this march, a comrade accompanying a person in a wheelchair was assaulted and the police hit her on the head for no reason. Later, the purple march managed to cross the outskirts of the town to the ANDRA logistics depot, where it was again stopped by tear gas.

Meanwhile, the “green procession” was able to march south along the railway line under bright sunshine and with the smallest possible police escort imaginable. While one group prevented the cops from advancing by erecting barricades, a few dozen militants set about dismantling and bending sections of the railway line. With smoke bombs and umbrellas, they were protected from the gaze of the gendarmerie helicopter and a reconnaissance plane of the authorities. After a good hour, the demonstration moved under the slogan “ANDRA dégage – Vive le bricolage” to the vicinity of the “purple procession”.

Attack on the depot on 21.08.

Meanwhile, the “golden procession” managed to reach the ANDRA depot from the south and damaged the fence and the facade. During their retreat, the only arrest of the action weekend took place.

While the “purple” group was stopped for the second time at the entrance to Gondrecourt, the “green procession” headed resolutely towards the northern side of the ANDRA depot. In the blink of an eye, the fence came down and over a hundred militants stormed the site. While they were taking their anger out on the facade with fire extinguishers and prepared paint cans, others destroyed most of the windows of the building. The interior of the building was also ransacked and a company car was smashed and flipped over. After barely ten minutes, the protesters had disappeared from the site again – the police squadron arrived too late to intervene. The solidarity of the “stress-free” blue finger, which danced happily to the rhythm of the samba and the jingling of the windows at the intersection, facilitated the retreat and created a nice atmosphere.

Attacks on police officers on 21.08.

The retreat of the green and purple processions, now united, was somewhat delayed. Slight scuffles between demonstrators and cops, in the form of firing of pyrotechnics, stones and tear gas, took place in the early afternoon. After a lull, during which evidence was handed over to the flames, the activists moved along the railway line back to Abainville. The ‘golden’ and ‘circus’ processions had already started the long march back to the camp.

From Abainville onwards, the situation became tense one last time: barricades prevented the cops from advancing and the demonstrators had to defend themselves again against the use of tear gas. Near the village centre, stones flew towards the gendarmerie – even the proud P4 jeep was damaged. Spontaneously improvised shuttles provided the militants with water and a long line of cars allowed them to retreat.

Conclusion

During these successful days of action, ANDRA and its CIGEO nuclear waste management project were once again met with massive opposition. There were few injuries and only one arrest. At a summary trial at the Bar-le-Duc court on Monday, the person concerned was sentenced to a ban from the Meuse after almost 48 hours of detention. In September, the person will be charged in a trial for damage to property and refusal to disclose their identity. The presence of the cops was much less than feared, and there were therefore far fewer confrontations than usual. Solidarity and courage, as well as a decentralised marching strategy, new for France, worked and outnumbered the surprisingly few cops. Once again, a clear signal was sent against the project and, in addition to many substantive events, a lot of anger was able to come to light. ANDRA is seeking recognition of the public utility (DUP) of its project and wants to go ahead with the expropriation and construction applications. On 15 September, the “public participation” hearings on the DUP will start in Montiers-sur-Saulx. It is high time to turn up the pressure!