On October 15, 2021, two environmental activists broke into a construction site on the Saclay plateau (Essonne). Equipped with climbing equipment, they climbed to the top of the crane to deploy a banner “SOS Stop line 18” to protest against the future Grand Paris Express line, before being arrested calmly by the gendarmes. This Friday morning at 9 a.m., the two men have an appointment at the Evry criminal court to answer the facts of “obstruction of the freedom to work”after a complaint filed by the company Estèves Frères which operated on the site.
“We lodged a complaint because we feared damage to the crane which could have amounted to thousands of euros, even if that was not the case, because the site manager, who has 25 years of experience, been threatened, and because for a whole day, 15 people were paid to play cards instead of working”, explains the family SME. For Api, one of the two activists up in the air, member of Extinction Rebellion, “the operation only blocked the site for one or two hours and we did not damage anything”.
And above all, he does not regret anything because for him, it was the way to be heard against a “completely delusional project”, namely the future line 18 which must connect Versailles to Orly by serving the Saclay plateau. The collective against line 18 (CCL18) which supported this “act of civil disobedience” believes that the rail project “is not useful for users and that it costs too much”. “The number of potential travelers has been greatly overestimated,” says Api.
Outside the court, the trial of the Société du Grand Paris
In addition, according to Lucile, member of the CCL18, line 18 contributes to the artificialization of the land on the Saclay plateau. “There are 2,300 hectares of very good quality land in all, among the most fertile in Europe, 400 hectares have already been destroyed by Paris-Saclay and with line 18, it will be much more”, protests. -she. The action of October 2021 was also the conclusion of a week of camp organized on the Saclay plateau by the Uprisings of the Earth to protest against the artificialization of the soil. “There were as many police officers as activists,” recalls Api. For him, there is a “gap between acts and repression”.
This Friday’s trial was originally scheduled for last April but it was postponed because “the plaintiff was not informed of the trial,” says Lucile. “The judicial system is dysfunctional for lack of means”, denounces Api, who says he is “appalled”. That said, he is not “too worried” about the outcome of the trial because “the charges seem fragile” and because there is a “collective that supports behind”. Thus from 9:30 a.m., a ” play retracing the only legitimate trial that should have taken place: that of the Société du Grand Paris*, responsible for the destruction of agricultural land”, indicates the CCL18. Speeches are also planned.
“There is always a risk but I am not judged for serious acts either. But if there is a bill of 10,000 euros in damages, it will be complicated to pay it, ”explains the one who is involved full-time in ecological activism and has lived the last two years in a squat and a ZAD. “Afterwards, if it can save the 4 billion euros that we throw out the window with this line…. »
*Contacted, the SGP did not wish to comment on the case.