Last spectacular action of climate activists, a cement plant of the group “polluter” Lafarge, near Marseille, was the target on Saturday December 10 of a group of several dozen militants who caused significant damage there, according to information from Provence that Agence France-Presse (AFP) was confirmed on Sunday.
The action was carried out late Saturday afternoon against the La Malle factory in Bouc-Bel-Air (Bouches-du-Rhône), Loïc Leuliette, Lafarge communications director, told AFP. France. The Aix-en-Provence prosecutor’s office told AFP that it had taken up this case on Saturday evening and had opened a flagrant investigation, entrusted to the gendarmerie.
« Symbole du greenwashing »
In a video of this operation, posted on several sites, we see several dozen people dressed in white hooded coveralls walking on a path. On other shots, militants dressed in the same overalls attack a surveillance camera with hammer blows, a pipe with hatchets. We also see what seems to be the beginnings of fires in trucks as well as graffiti “Who are the turkeys of La Farge? » bulging on a wall.
An anonymous text accompanying this video claims the action against the “cement-polluter” specifying that it was carried out by “200 people” who “surprised and disarmed the Lafarge de la Malle factory in Bouc-Bel-Air”.
The company filed a complaint, said Mr. Leuliette, denouncing “an act of incredible violence”that caused “significant damage” and left “very shocked staff”even if there was no physical confrontation. “The limits have really been crossed”he denounced, while cement sites have already been the target of occupations or blockades by activists in the past, in particular in June 2021 by Extinction Rebellion.
Lafarge “do everything possible to restart as soon as possible” the site which employs a total of 200 people, added Mr. Leuliette, saying that “this plant is the most advanced in terms of decarbonization, after investments of several million euros”.
“Ovens that have been targeted, long fueled by industrial waste and tires, are today the symbol of greenwashing”, retorts on the contrary the text of claim. By telephone, a person describing himself as “one of the activists present on the spot” told AFP that the action was carried out by “people who have organized themselves and come from everywhere”. “The violence comes above all from these companies which invest billions to continue to produce while polluting. We consider that there is no longer a choice, it is the only possible answer today to be heard”added this interlocutor.
“Decarbonization Pact”
Activists also recalled the questioning of Lafarge – which pleaded guilty and agreed to pay 778 million dollars in the United States – for the links until 2014 of its subsidiary in Syria with terrorist groups, including the organization Islamic State (IS).
The construction sector, in the broad sense, is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for global warming. In France, it represents 20% of these emissions, compared to nearly 30% for transport.
Climate activists have stepped up spectacular actions in recent months, including on world-famous works of art in various museums. In France they also interrupted a semi-final of the Roland-Garros tennis tournament or the Tour de France cyclist.
Minister Delegate for Industry Roland Lescure recalled on Twitter that the La Malle plant was one of the “fifty priority sites to be decarbonized”whose bosses were received in November by Emmanuel Macron to offer them a “decarbonization pact”. “I will always prefer resolute action to violent activism”he wrote. “I always condemn those who, in the name of ecology, make violence the only expression of their struggle”tweeted his colleague from the ecological transition Christophe Béchu.