Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 On a mountain highway in south-east France, halfway between the city of Lyon and Italian
00:05 city of Turin, 4,000 protesters clashed with 3,000 policemen on Saturday.
00:11 All of this to protest against the building of a high-speed train link from Lyon to Turin,
00:17 which includes a 58-kilometre tunnel through the Alps.
00:20 "More than 2,000 police officers were deployed.
00:25 Considering that there were around 4,000 of us, that's almost one police officer for every
00:30 one or two people.
00:32 That's where the violence comes in."
00:35 The group involved is the Uprisings of the Earth, a coalition of several activist associations
00:41 and part of a wave of radical climate activist groups.
00:45 Police blamed the coalition for being behind the violent protests in Saint-Sauline in March,
00:50 where 5,000 protesters clashed with 3,000 police officers over the building of a giant
00:55 reservoir for storing water, injuring 30 policemen and 200 demonstrators in the process.
01:02 After repeated protests on multiple sites, the Ontario Minister, Dermainin, plans to
01:06 shut down the NGO, accusing them of violence and posing risk to public safety.
01:12 But Uprisings of the Earth have stood their ground, claiming on their website that such
01:16 a movement cannot be torn down.
01:18 "You can't dissolve a movement.
01:21 You can't dissolve a revolt.
01:23 We are calling on everyone to join us in this attempt to stifle the movement.
01:28 Together, we are the Uprisings of the Earth."
01:31 The government launched the dissolution of the coalition in March, applying rules previously
01:36 used to outlaw far-right and Islamist groups.
01:39 Uprisings of the Earth can still appeal the decision, backed by left-wing opposition parties
01:44 and human rights groups who have denounced the disbandment of activists which they say
01:49 are fighting to raise awareness about the ravages of climate change.