Charred trucks, explosions, anti-A69 tags: what we know about the violent fire in Toulouse
Several explosions ripped through the night, rousing many Toulousains from their beds. On Monday, October 21, 2024, at around 4 a.m., a violent fire broke out on the premises of Spie Batignolles, located in the Gramont district of Toulouse. When firefighters arrived on the scene, seven trucks were engulfed in flames. An eighth was only just saved. The explosions heard by local residents were none other than the tires of the trucks, which were subjected to temperatures too extreme for them to withstand.
Specialized in construction work, Spie Batignolles is involved in two major projects in the Toulouse region: line C of the Toulouse metro, and the A69 highway between Toulouse and Castres. This project has been the subject of fierce protests from environmental militants for many months.
The police are investigating the incident as a crime, and the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office has opened an inquiry for “deliberate damage to private property by dangerous means”. Damage is estimated at 2 million euros.
What appears to be an act of vandalism is corroborated by a video showing intruders entering the site from the rear, crossing a fence on the Hers river side. CCTV images are currently being analyzed by Groupe d’appui judiciaire (GAJ) investigators. “They revealed the presence of two individuals dressed in black and wearing balaclavas inside the company premises”, says a police source, who were seen entering the site of the public works company at around 3:20 a.m., before leaving a few minutes later, just as the fire was starting to spread.
Investigators also noted the fire “started at multiple sites”. In view of the carcasses still in the parking lot, the fires were thought to have been started in the cabins, with the rear of the vehicles less affected by the flames. The arsonists probably used an accelerant.
According to our on-site reporter, Spie Batignolles has been tagged in the past by opponents of the A69. In February 2024, “No A69 Assassins” was written on a sign at the company’s entrance. This was immediately erased. This morning, other tags – “Assassins Non A69 On a dit non” (“Assassins A69, We said no”) – stain the huge concrete blocks lined up in front of Spie Batignolles, but it’s not clear whether they’re recent or not. An employee we met on the outskirts of the site said they were old.
A69: sabotage and damage on the rise
According to a tally compiled by La Dépêche du Midi, at least 13 vehicles have been set on fire – 11 on the construction site – in connection with the A69 freeway project, mainly in the Tarn département. According to concession holder NGE – Atosca, 327 incidents of damage (stone-throwing, tagging, arson) were recorded between September 26, 2022 and September 30, 2024. 171 of these incidents gave rise to complaints. The most notable recent act of sabotage was the burning of a formwork used to cast a bridge pier in Saïx (Tarn) at the end of August.)
Construction sites on metro line C and A69 targeted
This is not the first suspicious fire to affect Toulouse’s major construction sites in recent months. In June 2023, an ill-intentioned hand set fire to two cranes on the metro site in the Raisin district.
Two separate fires were claimed on an anarchist website. “A thought of solidarity to the zadists who are not discouraged, and continue to occupy and sabotage the A69 construction site”, it was written. The DTPJ inherited the investigation, which is still ongoing. In May 2024, an NGE drilling rig caught fire in the middle of the night on the site of the future Sept-Deniers station. The same group claimed responsibility.
Four construction machines destroyed in the middle of the night
At the beginning of October, the courts decreed the definitive evacuation of the Verfeil ZAD and the last “squirrels” perched in its trees, to prevent them being cut down as part of the A69 construction project. An issue that has generated unbridled passion and a fierce determination to go to extremes.
In April 2024, four construction machines belonging to Atosca, who were also working on the A69, were set on fire in the commune of Saïx, in the Lauragais region. Hooded individuals had neutralized the security guards before around forty accomplices set the fire.
via: sansnom Translated by Act for freedom now!