In Pictures: The muddy and bloody battle in the fields of western France
Activists have clashed with police in the fields of western France for two days as authorities try to clear out a protest camp on the site of the abandoned Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport project.
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Police continued to clear activists on Tuesday from the decade-old camp at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, near the western city of Nantes where authoritis had planned to build an airport.
It marked the second day of clashes between the protesters and police after some 2,500 police were deployed to raze the decade-old camp at
Notre-Dame-des-Landes, near the western city of Nantes, and evict the last of the protesters who had refused to leave despite the government agreeing to ditch the proposed airport.
The activists used tractors and burning barricades of tyres, wooden pallets, hay bales and electricity poles to try to keep the police at bay.
Several police and protesters have been injured. Three gendarmes had to be taken to hospital on Tuesday. There were also reports of activists firing
AFP pictures on Tuesday showed hooded activists throwing objects at police, who were using tear gas to control the crowd.
Here's a look at the muddy and increasingly bloody battle.
L'operazione militare contro la #Zad (zone à défendre), di #NotreDamedesLandes per espellere gli occupanti e demolire le abitazioni è in corso. Dopo 50 anni di lotta, la battaglia ambientale contro la costruzione dell’aeroporto non si è ancora conclusa. #ZADResist#NDDL pic.twitter.com/JfUXtc1ox6
— globalproject.info (@global_project) April 10, 2018
The tweet below shows all the tear gas cannisters fired by police that have been gathered up by protesters.
#NDDL Maquis devant le tas de cartouches de lacrymogènes et grenades lancées depuis ce matin pic.twitter.com/C04Hdgu7OV
— Eleonore Duplay (@Eleonoreduplay) April 10, 2018
Monday saw similar scenes as police used bulldozers to knock down squats where the activists had been living.
The activists moved onto the site in 2008 and have since built up a community they bill as a model of sustainable farming and political debate that they have tried to replicate in other parts of France.
#NDDL L'opération d'expulsion des occupants illégaux se poursuit. Plusieurs squats ont été évacués et démantelés. #NotreDameDesLandes pic.twitter.com/pmY1YjLyjs
— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) April 9, 2018
So much love for the comrades at #ZAD #NDDL pic.twitter.com/2l8bIczCut
— eⒶtps (@eatps_) April 9, 2018
#ZAD resistance continues #NDDL I was hit in the leg by the tear gas pellet you see towards the end pic.twitter.com/aNYnaCvdwz
— Charlotte Dubenskij (@CDubenskij_RT) April 10, 2018
#zad #NDDL live https://t.co/edFRzZGIGA
— Zone À Défendre (@ZAD_NDDL) April 9, 2018
La #ZAD: Another End of the World Is Possible https://t.co/vGXH5cf78L
A complete history of the occupation that blocked an airport in France, from its prehistory in the 1960s to its triumphant victory and subsequent betrayal.
PS The police are evicting it RIGHT NOW. Solidarity! pic.twitter.com/3IUVsB6NnO
— CrimethInc. (@crimethinc) April 9, 2018
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p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545}
L'operazione militare contro la #Zad (zone à défendre), di #NotreDamedesLandes per espellere gli occupanti e demolire le abitazioni è in corso. Dopo 50 anni di lotta, la battaglia ambientale contro la costruzione dell’aeroporto non si è ancora conclusa. #ZADResist#NDDL pic.twitter.com/JfUXtc1ox6
— globalproject.info (@global_project) April 10, 2018
#NDDL Maquis devant le tas de cartouches de lacrymogènes et grenades lancées depuis ce matin pic.twitter.com/C04Hdgu7OV
— Eleonore Duplay (@Eleonoreduplay) April 10, 2018
#NDDL L'opération d'expulsion des occupants illégaux se poursuit. Plusieurs squats ont été évacués et démantelés. #NotreDameDesLandes pic.twitter.com/pmY1YjLyjs
— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) April 9, 2018
So much love for the comrades at #ZAD #NDDL pic.twitter.com/2l8bIczCut
— eⒶtps (@eatps_) April 9, 2018
#ZAD resistance continues #NDDL I was hit in the leg by the tear gas pellet you see towards the end pic.twitter.com/aNYnaCvdwz
— Charlotte Dubenskij (@CDubenskij_RT) April 10, 2018
#zad #NDDL live https://t.co/edFRzZGIGA
— Zone À Défendre (@ZAD_NDDL) April 9, 2018
La #ZAD: Another End of the World Is Possible https://t.co/vGXH5cf78L
— CrimethInc. (@crimethinc) April 9, 2018
A complete history of the occupation that blocked an airport in France, from its prehistory in the 1960s to its triumphant victory and subsequent betrayal.
PS The police are evicting it RIGHT NOW. Solidarity! pic.twitter.com/3IUVsB6NnO
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