From a distance, the Saclay ZAD (Zone to Defend) does not look like much. It is on a small plot of land, 30 km from Paris, that a dozen environmental activists settled, a little over two years ago, to block the works of the metro line 18 of Grand Paris. Express. The sky is gray and the wind is blowing on the small sheds that occupy this agricultural plot on the Saclay plateau. In this month of February, the facilities of the ZAD renamed “Zaclay”, seem rather empty, probably because of the cold that has been raging for several days. But a few diehards continue their fight against the artificialization of these private agricultural lands.
Issa, 28, arrived at the ZAD in the summer of 2022 to take part in the fight against the destruction of this agricultural land in favor of metro line 18, for which the drilling work has already started a few meters away. “I wanted to find a place that spoke to me, and the ZAD de Saclay was a bit like the alternative place in the area when I came back to live with my mother who lives nearby”, she says in front of the camera 20 minutes.
A place of exchange and sharing
On this improvised camp, a collective building was built with the means at hand, mainly pallet wood. In the main room, a wood stove warms the militants installed in the adjoining sofas, and a French window has been fitted to access the outside, on the side opposite the road. Some small solar panels recovered and placed on the roof of one of the huts of the place also allow the inhabitants to benefit from electricity. Even if “it bugs a lot”, admits Issa.
To bring the place to life, screenings are regularly organised, as well as workshops and readings allowing discussion with the inhabitants of the ZAD, visiting activists, farmers and external supporters.
Ongoing legal proceedings
For the time being, the environmental activists are not afraid of being dislodged because the land belongs to a family of farmers who have given their agreement for the installation of the ZAD on their land.
But a legal proceeding has was launched in February 2022 by the prefecture of Essonne against what the State considers to be an illegal structure located in a natural, agricultural and forestry protection area. While the municipality has initiated an amicable procedure with the farmers, owners of the land, so that the activists leave the place. “As there has still not been a court decision, we are somehow untouchable at the moment,” says Issa.