France, Demonstrator Killed Protesting at Sivens Dam Project.

 

 

 Death in Protest at Sivens Dam.

Opponents of  an expensive dam  project, which they will only serve to irrigate the lands of a small number of farmers practising intensive agriculture, gathered in force at Sivens over the weekend.

They included environmentalists, anarchists (autonomists)  and supporters of left parties.  Noel Mamere (Green Party) José Bové (Green and Confédération paysanne) , and Jean-Luc Mélenchon (Parti de gauche),

The body of a man was discovered by police on the night of Saturday 25 to Sunday 26 October at the dam site, where clashes took place Saturday on the sidelines of the mobilisation.

“An investigation was opened under the authority of the Attorney Mr Albi to determine the cause of death and the identity of the victim,” a statement from the prefecture announced.

According to a source close to the investigation quoted by AFP, “a  man of around  thirty years old was one of those who were in the middle of the clashes”

The official, who managed onsite operations police during confrontations on Saturday night, said  seven members of the security forces were injured but firefighters had reported during in the evening that there had been no injuries i amongst the demonstrators.

According to Lieutenant-Colonel, “100-150 and hooded anarchists dressed in black threw incendiary devices” and other projectiles at police surrounding a mobilization of “2000” opponents. The majority of the protest remained peaceful, he stated.

“The police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets,” the officer added.

Since the beginning of works on September the 1st,  skirmishes and rallies have multiplied around the site of the dam – which will create a reservoir that should store  1.5 million m3 of water.  This water retention project is supported by the General Council of the Tarn, which asserts that it is necessary to irrigate the surrounding farmland and that another wetland will be recreated.

 

Adapted from today’s L’Humanité 

A critical official report on the construction project by the Ministre de l’Energie was made public this morning. (France-Info)

” The choice of a dam was made “without any real analysis of possible alternatives. And” this is all the more regrettable that the investment cost compared to the stored volume is high. “The assessment of its need was carried out on the basis of  ” old data and standards,” which led to “overstatements.” And the study presented of the dam’s impact was ‘very average’.

The least one can say is that the report,  written by two specialist engineers, is highly critical of the Sivens dam project.  Amongst other grievances, serous financial problems were raised, or rather the issue of the project’s  “compatibility with the rules of the EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) and the regulations on  on state aid”. These could lead, the report suggests, to an even “more severe interpretation” (than this report) by the  European Union.

 A long article in Le Monde on Saturday (Tensions dans le Tarn, où le barrage de Sivens attise la guerre de l’eau) described the influence of the industrial agricultural lobby behind the dam project. It noted that the water will be used for the large-scale cultivation of crops such as maize.  The author suggested that nobody but these farmers would benefit.

Apart from denouncing the  immediate environmental damage (to several rare species of animals, plants and insects), opponents have been mobilised to protest at the Sivens dam as the symbol of an obsolete model of agricultural production.

Today the former minister of Ecology,  Delphine Batho (Socialist) has denounced (le Monde)  the violence of “certain groups” in the protests. But she has also called for a return to the “Moratorium” which she instituted on such projects.