The spirits strongly heated Saturday afternoon, on the commune of Forges-de-Lanouee, near Ploërmel (Morbihan). Around 1 p.m., a hundred people had indeed gathered to demonstrate against the disputed wind farm project in the Lanouée forest. Everything was proceeding peacefully until a more vocal group of demonstrators headed towards the site under construction.
Fearing damage, the gendarmes intervened to protect the place, reports West France. Opponents retaliated by throwing projectiles and setting up barricades. The police tried to disperse them with tear gas. A helicopter was called in for help. Calm only returned around 8 p.m., after dark.
Launched almost ten years ago, the Lanouée forest project aims at the installation, by a Canadian company, of 17 wind turbines in order to reinforce the production of electricity in Brittany, a region which suffers from a deficit in this area. Opponents denounce an attack on biodiversity in this preserved wooded area.