500 euros suspended fine for having stopped the peloton for ten minutes. This is the sentence pronounced this Tuesday by the correctional court of Auch against the six activists of the environmental collective “Last Renovation” who, on July 22, 2022, lay down on the route of the Tour de France. The action took place on a Gers departmental road, in Lasseube-Propre.
Tried for obstructing the circulation of vehicles on a public road, the defendants had, during the hearing on November 22, justified their stunt by the climatic emergency and a “worrying ecological situation”.
“It was the last resort”
“We marched, we demonstrated, we did a whole bunch of actions within the legal framework to make our demands heard, but it didn’t work. It was the last resort, ”said one of the activists at the helm. The collective acts “for everyone” and “wishes to bring to the fore a worrying ecological situation”. He “demands a thermal renovation of the buildings, but nothing is put in place in a serious way”, added another young activist.
Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the organizing company of the Grande Boucle had initially filed a complaint, before abandoning the procedure.