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On Wednesday, the France government shuts down the environmental group Les Soulevements de la Terre which means (Uprisings of the Earth) (SLT), citing its alleged involvement in provoking armed protests and violent actions. The move has received criticism from the left-wing opposition and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has repeatedly referred to SLT's actions as "eco-terrorism", accusing some activists of displaying "extreme violence against police forces".
A government decree justifying the closure of the group claims that SLT, under the pretext of environmental conservation, has been promoting sabotage and causing material damage. The decree specifically mentions several protests that resulted in clashes with police, including demonstrations against an agricultural dam in western France in March and a rail link in the Alps last week.
SLT's lawyer, Rapheal Kempf, denounced the decree as a violation of freedom of expression, arguing that it targets expression and not actions. Kempf expressed the intention to challenge the decision in court.
Human rights groups have raised concerns about the government's actions, viewing them as part of a broader crackdown on environmental interest groups. They claim such measures include heavy-handed police surveillance of protests and the arrest of activists.
Previous dissolutions suspended by the Council of State
The dissolution was made possible by the "separatism law", adopted in 2021. This law allows the government to dissolve by decree the Council of Ministers associations or de facto groups which, among other things, would provoke “violent acts against persons or property”.
This law has already targeted environmental actors, through the Republican contract of engagement that it has put in place. The signing of this contract has been compulsory since January 2, 2022, for all associations and foundations requesting a public subsidy, public approval (youth, sport, popular education, environment, civic service, etc.) or recognition of utility public.
In October 2022, the prefecture of Vienne seized the administrative court to have two subsidies to environmental associations cancelled, considering that training in civil disobedience organized by Alternatiba Poitiers was contrary to this republican contract of engagement. The prefecture also already criticized in its arguments the links between several stakeholders and the opposition movement to mega-basins in the Vienne.
“An attempt to gag the word”
On Monday, evoking the threat of dissolution, one of the spokespersons of the Uprisings of the Earth, Benoît Feuillu, explained that, "Macron is rushing to the orders of the industrialists and forgets that the last time our dissolution was announced, it only multiplied the movement, its actions and its presence across the country. This will again be the case if this dissolution is decreed.
He has since been arrested and taken into police custody after a series of arrests carried out by the anti-terrorist sub-directorate (SDAT) targeted 14 people on Tuesday as part of an investigation into an operation carried out on December 20 against the Lafarge cement plant in Bouc-Bel-Air, near Marseille. This new police operation comes two weeks after a first wave of arrests organized on June 5 as part of this same investigation.
The League for Human Rights denounced a "questioning of the freedoms of association, demonstration, expression, as well as the rights of defense" and called for "joining the rallies of support" for SLT.
Amnesty International France condemned the government's decision on Twitter. "A reminder of international law is necessary," said the NGO.
Who are Les Soulevements de la Terre?
Les Soulevements de la Terre Uprisings of the Earth (SLT) is a French protest and political ecology collective that emerged in January 2021. Founded by former members of the ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes, it comprises dozens of local collectives, farms, sections unions. and NGOs from all over the country.
The group is known for its opposition to land grabs and various development projects, such as mega-basins, highways and the Lyon-Turin high-speed rail line. They carry out actions of civil disobedience and sabotage against industrial infrastructures that they perceive as polluting.
The creation of Les Soulevements de la Terre is part of a broader context of diversification within the climate movement in France and around the world. Similar groups such as Scientists in Rebellion, Last Renovation, and Terres de Luttes have sprung up, all criticizing development projects labeled "imposed and useless big projects" and questioning the notion of technological progress. Academics Nicolas Celnik and Fabien Benoit classify Les Soulevements de la Terre as part of the "techno-wrestling" movement.
The collective has attracted activists from other environmental organisations, including Extinction Rebellion and Youth for Climate, as well as environmental associations, unions and collectives such as Confédération paysanne, ATTAC, Alternatiba and Union syndicale Solidaires.
Les Soulevements de la Terre has succeeded in bringing together people with diverse backgrounds and backgrounds, forging a cohesive movement through the articulation of complementary activist practices.
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