Souvenirs of the Garnaval

Posted on Manif-Est

Link to the video of the Garnaval against the come of the expropriation judge at La Gare : https://manif-est.info/IMG/mp4/garenaval.mp4

Link to the english subtitles : garenavalEN

 

Dear Mom,

I hope you’re okay.

I am writing to you from the new shed of La Gare, whose construction we started on Wednesday (5), just after Tuesday 4 – Mardi gras, Mardi gare, Carnaval, Garnaval, yes, we are still at the forefront of play on words in Meuse, hihi. We were about 60 in Mandres-en-Barrois to protest against the visit of the expropriation judge who had to come and visit the land to award it a prize. Yes, the procedure continues: Andra has offered 40,000€ for the buy-in, and the owners here, 1.2 million euros to say that this land is priceless. Moreover, the judge could not come to assess it, because the representative of the owners and the owners themselves were not there at the meeting. Instead, there was a photo exhibition attached to the entrance gate, which showed a whole panel of actions carried out at the court of Bar-le-Duc, as a kind of response to his coming: the famous formula «Know that I do not expect anything from your institution» hasn’t aged a bit and I’m glad to see it.

Frog, monk, dolphin, beaver train, nuclear worker, salamander, yellow cross and other symbols of the fight against nuclear transport, …we were the reflection of what we care about and what we are fighting. Because it was Mardi Gras, we had taken out the key elements of the kermesse: pancakes and giant radioactive cans. Some 15 participants were also dressed as police officers: uniform, light and baton, and a dozen others as journalists: notebook, recorder or camera in hand – ultra realistic.

On the station side, the judge was well surrounded: a dozen police cars and a helicopter to watch his arrival and clear the pile of bazaar-barricade flanked on the parking lot of the ruin, in front of the entrance. This is one more step towards the acquisition by Andra of the land, which then wants to rebuild the railway track in order to try to run the radioactive waste trains. It must be said that things are getting faster here: the far right deputee who does not miss an opportunity to praise the CIGÉO project, the public inquiry of the DR0 (geological and archaeological excavations on the railway line of the Ornain valley, at Bois Lejus, etc.), the expropriations, the quarry project at Chassey-Beaupré, the big machine is set in motion from all sides at once. Of course, I’m a little worried about it, but this new phase will see our ties forged in recent years confirmed on the ground and grow. It will also be necessary to learn how to do with more people, because we will be needed and I look forward to seeing it happen. Will you come to see me in September during the camp?

I kiss you,

16/03/2025