In solidarity to the heroic struggle of ZADists in Nantes and Testet to defend land and its sustainable use against the imperialistic capital and its puppet state of France, and to prevent further social and environmental disaster to spread, we selected this article as a sample of reporting from self-organized counterinformation in English. We wish we could follow the events but our availability of French speakers and translators is very limited.Rémi lives among all of us who will continue to struggle neglecting all the violence, terrorism, and ruthlessness that state repressive mechanisms utilize to break up any form of social resistance develops against their destructive plans.
France: October 27th, 2014
Background info on the struggle against the dam in Testet: 1, 2
According to a statement from squatters in the ZAD of Notre-Dame-des-Landes,
during the night between Saturday and Sunday the 26th of October 2014 a
protester named Remi was killed in clashes that broke out after a rally
against the construction of a dam along the Sivens forest in the
wetland of Testet in the Tarn department (southern France).France: October 27th, 2014
Background info on the struggle against the dam in Testet: 1, 2
Around 7000 people gathered in the ZAD (zone to be defended) of
Testet, after months of police attacks and destruction of the wetland
and habitations of those who defend the area. In the late evening and
overnight, dozens of people attacked the forces of order that were
protecting the dam construction site. Activists expressed their anger
trying to delay the resumption of works, originally scheduled for Monday
the 27th of October.
The cops fired rubber bullets (known as flash-balls), distraction
devices such as stun hand grenades and fragmentation grenades, and tear
gases. According to testimonies of protesters from the Testet wetland
area, Remi must have collapsed after being hit with a grenade; then his
body was reportedly taken by the repressive forces.
Prefectural authorities stated they did not want to comment on the
matter before the official autopsy was made public on Monday. The
government has already begun to stigmatize the protesters, in addition
to trying to divide them in order to cover up what happened. But they
know very well that, whatever they do, this death will have explosive
consequences.
See footage from protest in the evening of October 26th in the town of Gaillac in the Tarn department.
Calls against state violence and updates on planned actions in Nantes and elsewhere at: zad.nadir.org & nantes.indymedia.org
Callout for protests against the violence of the government – at Nantes and elsewhere
Thursday 30 October 2014, by
Rémi, 21 years old, died in the night of
Saturday-Sunday in Sivens. According to several corroborating accounts,
he collapsed a few meters from the camp, having been shot in the
shoulder, and was immediately picked up by the police. Was it a
‘flash-ball’ gun or, more likely, a ‘grenade désencerclement’ (similar
to a stun grenade), projected from a launcher?
Only the police know who’s concealing the truth. They claim that there were no injuries among the protestors, while the medic team says that there were many on Saturday. Police say they “discovered a body”, while failing to mention the violent clashes that had taken place (the prefecture said that the fighting stopped at around 21h, neglecting to say that they resumed with greater intensity around midnight). They also claim they were unable to attend the scene on Sunday to launch an investigation (the police left abruptly after the crime and have not yet returned).
We demand that all details of this homicide come to light as soon as possible, out of respect for Remi, his family and his friends. We also hope that those responsible for this tragedy are promptly prosecuted. And for us, that the person held responsible is not just Robocop X who pulled the trigger on Saturday night – much less Rémi himself. We need to know who set up this violent situation which led inevitably to tragedy. So what exactly were the police doing in Testet on Saturday, while the prefect had stated that none would be sent to Testet over the weekend, where thousands (7000?) of activists were expected? There were no workers to protect, nor any machines to defend: the only equipment that had been left there on Friday was burnt the same night.
Why then were 250 CRS riot police armed with grenades and flash-ball guns stationed to look after a small square of land surrounded by a ditch several metres wide? Was it to protect the precious fences? Or to create tension and act as a provocation? The authorities knew very well what would happen by leaving a generator in Testet on Friday and by sending in the armada on Saturday.
At the present time when the absurdity of the proposed Testet dam appears in the cold light of day, when all the lies and conflicts of interests exposed by opponents for months have been confirmed by journalists’ investigations (Le Monde 24th October & Figaro, 26th October) and the report by government experts released today, the President of the Conseil Général and the Prefect of Tarn no longer have any case for the dam except to play up the alleged violence of opponents. They therefore needed violence on Saturday. They provoked it. It cost Rémi’s life.
We are in shock and express our sincere condolences to those close to him.
PS : We now demand that a second, independent autopsy be performed and would like the prefecture to know that if the body is not kept for this second opinion, it would be further proof that the authorities want to hide the truth. We denounce attempts to sully Rémi’s memory by suggesting that the cause of death were linked to “alcohol intake” or his “violence”.
More info: Zad.nadir.org & Paris-luttes.info & Indymedia Nantes.
Only the police know who’s concealing the truth. They claim that there were no injuries among the protestors, while the medic team says that there were many on Saturday. Police say they “discovered a body”, while failing to mention the violent clashes that had taken place (the prefecture said that the fighting stopped at around 21h, neglecting to say that they resumed with greater intensity around midnight). They also claim they were unable to attend the scene on Sunday to launch an investigation (the police left abruptly after the crime and have not yet returned).
We demand that all details of this homicide come to light as soon as possible, out of respect for Remi, his family and his friends. We also hope that those responsible for this tragedy are promptly prosecuted. And for us, that the person held responsible is not just Robocop X who pulled the trigger on Saturday night – much less Rémi himself. We need to know who set up this violent situation which led inevitably to tragedy. So what exactly were the police doing in Testet on Saturday, while the prefect had stated that none would be sent to Testet over the weekend, where thousands (7000?) of activists were expected? There were no workers to protect, nor any machines to defend: the only equipment that had been left there on Friday was burnt the same night.
Why then were 250 CRS riot police armed with grenades and flash-ball guns stationed to look after a small square of land surrounded by a ditch several metres wide? Was it to protect the precious fences? Or to create tension and act as a provocation? The authorities knew very well what would happen by leaving a generator in Testet on Friday and by sending in the armada on Saturday.
At the present time when the absurdity of the proposed Testet dam appears in the cold light of day, when all the lies and conflicts of interests exposed by opponents for months have been confirmed by journalists’ investigations (Le Monde 24th October & Figaro, 26th October) and the report by government experts released today, the President of the Conseil Général and the Prefect of Tarn no longer have any case for the dam except to play up the alleged violence of opponents. They therefore needed violence on Saturday. They provoked it. It cost Rémi’s life.
We are in shock and express our sincere condolences to those close to him.
PS : We now demand that a second, independent autopsy be performed and would like the prefecture to know that if the body is not kept for this second opinion, it would be further proof that the authorities want to hide the truth. We denounce attempts to sully Rémi’s memory by suggesting that the cause of death were linked to “alcohol intake” or his “violence”.
More info: Zad.nadir.org & Paris-luttes.info & Indymedia Nantes.
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