Police Evacuate Prostesters From Normandy Horse Country Waste Dump
by Sue Finley
Seventy French policeman descended upon the town of Nonant-le-Pin yesterday morning at 3:30 to evacuate the protestors who have been blocking the entrance to a vast waste dump in the heart of horse country in Normandy, France, according to an alert from Jour de Galop. The site, operated by Guy Dauphin Environment (GDE), has been the cause of controversy since it opened last year. Last October, GDE conducted two days of dumping of auto parts and plastics before the entrance was blocked by protestors, who have blocked the gates every day since October 24, 2013 to prevent any further dumping while a fight is carried out in French courts.
The police were successful in routing the protestors this morning, and shutting down the roads which lead to the facility. The protestors responding by parking three tractors across the road five kilometers further out, effectively prohibiting the passage of any dump trucks which might be enroute to the site, according to the website ouestfrance.fr.
The site, if allowed to re-open, would see 2.5 million tons of automobile waste dumped into the agricultural lands less than 500 meters from the center of the small village of Nonant over the next 17 years, in an area populated by 160 stud farms, some of which directly surround the waste site. Opponents have expressed fears of contamination of the surrounding land and water.
The legal battle has raged on for a year, with both sides claiming victory. On May 13, GDE was convicted of illegal waste management by the Criminal Court of Argentan and was ordered to permanently close the site. The company is appealing the decision. On July 17, the Caen Administrative Court faulted the state for failing to stop the blockade, which it called illegal. While that decision is also being appealed, it was that ruling that was cited as the justification for yesterday’s action.
“This expulsion is a provocation,” Karima Delli, Northwest European Deputy of the ecological political group EELV told ouestfrance.fr. “It is an incomprehensible decision to the extent that we are still awaiting legal decisions regarding the legality of the project and the evidence accumulated against GDE. This type of project, planned in the heart of a rich and sensitive natural area, is absurd and should be banned in France as it is in the rest of Europe. Since the beginning, ecologists have been opponents of this landfill project. The mobilization against GDE is the symbol of a citizen resistance to preserve these natural resources in a rural setting for everyone.”
Jose Bove, also with EELV, told ouestfrance.fr, “The expulsion will not stop the mobilization. Legal remedies persist. It is not acceptable that this project goes forward to the detriment of the local population, jeopardizing a vibrant agricultural economy. This project is being legitimately questioned. The agricultural way of life of this land should be preserved, and the breeding of racehorses can not be sacrificed for the benefit of a polluting industry.”
Click here to read the TDN’s story on the waste dump from the August 17 edition.