French activists defy ban on protest against Lyon-Turin high-speed train

Protestors gather in a field during a demonstration against the construction of a high-speed rail line between Lyon and Turin, in La Chapelle, near in the French alpine Maurienne valley, on June 17, 2023. AFP - OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE

France on Saturday deployed 2,000 gendarmes and police to the Maurienne valley in the Alps where 2,000 activists defied a protest ban at the construction site of a high speed train linking the Lyon with Turin, in Italy.

French and Italian environmental groups say the “titanic” railway project, which involves creating a 260-kilometre tunnel system through the Alps, has already led to the drying up of several natural water sources in the area.

Lawmakers from several left-wing parties also attended the protest, which had been banned under a decree issued by Savoie departmental prefect François Ravier.

The decision was upheld by the Grenoble administrative court after an appeal had been lodged.

"There are concerns about the safety of law enforcement officers and firefighters,” Ravier told journalists, adding that the gendarmes and police would be joined by 70 firefighters and rescue services.

Random checks

Le Dauphiné Libéré local newspaper reported that random checks carried out on both sides of the border had led to the seizure of 119 sharp and blunt objects, two fireworks, and brass knuckles and hammers.

French NGO Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprisings), which is leading the protest, said the seized items were camping and cooking equipment.

Protestors gather in a field during a demonstration against the construction of a high-speed rail line between Lyon and Torino, in La Chapelle, near Modane, in the French Alps' Maurienne valley, on June 17, 2023. Hundreds of oponents to the Lyon-Torino high-speed rail line demonstrated on June 17 despite a ban on the gathering, of which the details are yet to be determined and despite a heavy police presence in the valley. They set up a makeshift camp on land lent by the municipality of La Chapelle, outside the ban zone announced the day before by the Savoie prefecture. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)

On Friday hundreds of protesters poured into the small commune of La Chapelle, setting up makeshift camps in the fields and meadows in a zone bordering the area of the banned demonstration.

The European Union backs the €26 billion Lyon-Turin high-speed train link. Seventy percent of the railway system will run through France and 30 percent through Italy.