Nuit Debout

By Martin Legall - ROARMag, January 26, 2017

It all started decades ago with the local resistance against the construction of a second airport near the city of Nantes in western France. Eight years ago, this resistance culminated in the establishment of a self-organized autonomous zone, commonly known as the ZAD (Zone à Défendre, or “Zone to Defend”). Since then, the ZAD has been under constant threat of eviction and has withstood multiple attacks by militarized police forces set on clearing the area. With the support of individuals and collectives across France and from abroad, the occupation continues to this day.

Half a century of planning and resistance

Plans to build a second airport in Nantes were first developed in the mid-1960s. The authorities wanted to decentralize economic activity away from Paris to other cities in France. In the 1970s, the regional council designated the town of Notre-Dames-des-Landes, north of Nantes, as the site for the construction of the airport. At the time, farmers and local producers started to organize to resist the construction and raise awareness.

The construction of a rail network for high-speed trains in the late 1980s pushed the plans to build an airport north of Nantes to the bottom of the agenda until 1994, when the government revitalized the project in order to reduce air traffic at the two Parisian airports of Roissy and Orly.

In the 2000s, the government of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin reaffirmed aspirations to decentralize economic activity and to turn Nantes into an international hub. After being pushed by political elites at both state and regional levels, the project was recognized as “promoting the public interest” in 2008. Two years later, the multinational corporation Vinci was selected to build and run the airport.

As early as 2000, a network of groups and organizations was created to organize an awareness campaign and to undertake actions in the area. In 2009, local activists and residents invited the French climate action camp, resulting in hundreds of activists visiting the zone. They occupied buildings that had been left empty by the authorities and built their own yurts and shacks.

Little by little, self-organization and collective decision-making structures were put in practice. Soon, support collectives were set up in various cities across the country and beyond: it was the beginning of one of the longest struggles in the recent history of French social movements.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 31, 2016

A special supplement to Eco Unionist News #106:

• French unions threaten to disrupt Euro 2016 with strikes - By Kim Willsher, The Guardian, May 29, 2016
• France General Strike 2016 - By staff, A-Revolt, May 27, 2016
• France In Blackout As Strikes Cause Total Chaos - By Sean Adl-Tabatabai, Your News Wire, May 27, 2016
• Protests Intensify, Spread Across France as Workers Refuse Submission - By Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, May 26, 2016
• Scuffles and smoke bombs as protesters step up fight against French labour bill - By Associated Press, The Guardian, May 26, 2016
• Thousands of French Port Workers Protest Labor Reforms in Le Havre - By staff, Sputnik News, May 26, 2016
• French government seeks to crush strikes against labor law - By Alex Lantier, World Socialist Website, May 25, 2016
• French unions to switch protests to electricity supplies - By staff, The Local, May 25, 2016
• France set to grind to a halt as strikes spark fuel shortages and air and rail blockages - By Henry Samuel, The Telegraph, May 24, 2016
• French labour dispute: Strike hits all eight oil refineries - By staff, BBC, May 24, 2016
• French strike hits refinery output in labour reform showdown - By Marc Leras and Brian Love, Street Insider, May 24, 2016
• Strike hits French oil refineries as police break up Marseille picket - By Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, May 24, 2016
• What stirred the stormy seas in France? - By Léon Crémieux, Socialist Worker, May 24, 2016; [related]: Strong headwinds are making France a stormy sea - By Léon Crémieux, International Viewpoint, May 24, 2016
• French Labour Law: The decisive battle has begun! - By Jerôme Metellus, In Defense of Marxism, May 23, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 9, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists*:

Lead Stories:

• Major oil sands producers scale back output, shut down as wildfire rages - By Jeff Lewis and Shawn McCarthy, Toronto Globe and Mail, May 4, 2016; [related] Mass Evacuation as 'Apocalyptic' Inferno Engulfs Canadian Tar Sands City - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, May 4, 2016
• Break Free: Largest Civil Disobedience In Environmental Movement History - By Break Free Coalition, Popular Resistance, May 3, 2016
• 'Today Marks the End of TTIP': Greenpeace Leak Exposes Corporate Takeover - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, May 2, 2016
• How to Create an "Ecology of Change" by Combining Movement Uprisings With Long-Term Organizing - By Mark Karlin, Truthout, May 1, 2016
• The welfare of workers should be our primary concern… - By Gary Herman, Union Solidarity International, April 27, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Legalizing Direct Action in Pennsylvania [video] - By Richard Mellor, Facts For Working People, May 7, 2016
• A Growing and WINNING Climate Movement - By Lena Moffitt, Sierra Club, May 2, 2016
• NUHW joins the No Coal In Oakland movement - By Staff, National Union of Healthcare Workers, April 18, 2016 
  

Just Transition:

• AGL: Energy transition can happen “almost overnight” - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, May 5, 2016
• David Suzuki: Divest from Damage and Invest in a Healthier Future - By David Suzuki, DeSmog Blog, May 4, 2016
• Coalfield political theater masks path to progress - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, May 3, 2016
• May Day in Oslo - By Jonathan Neale, Global Climate Jobs, May 2, 2016
• Taking a bigger Leap when it comes to building green - By Matthew Adams and Melinda Zytaruk, Rabble.Ca, May 2, 2016
• Waste Done Right - By Ruth Tyson, Energy Justice Network, May 1, 2016
• We Are Mother Earth’s Red Line: Frontline Communities Lead The Climate Justice Fight Beyond The Paris Agreement - By It Takes Roots To Weather The Storm, The Leap, April 29, 2016
• World Tree to Reverse Climate Change through Earth-Repair - By Jordan Fink and Daniel Lerch, KBOO, March 23, 2016 

Bread and Roses:

• Boycott Supporters Speak Out for Food & Farmworkers Justice this May Day - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, May 6, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott actions heat up as Month of Outrage winds down! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, May 6, 2016
• Environmental Disaster in Chile: Chiloe En Crisis - By Erin Gallagher, Revolution News, May 5, 2016; [relateed] Chile: Fisherman Barricade Chiloe Island; Protest Government Response to Red Tide Crisis - By Erin Gallagher, Revolution News, May 4, 2016
• Familias Unidas at May Day Events Throughout the State of Washington - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, May 5, 2016
• Intervention by La Via Campesina at the ‘30th FAO Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia’, in Turkey - By Adnan Çobanoğlu, La Via Campesina, May 5, 2016
• Interview with Wendy Cruz on the challenges for the advance of Agrarian Reform - By Wendy Cruz, La Via Campesina, May 4, 2016
• 160+ Farm and Food Groups Ask Congress to Reject TPP, Stand Up for Independent Farmers and Ranchers - By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, May 2, 2016
• The Little-Known Farmworkers Who Sparked the Biggest Labor Movement In U.S. History - By Alexa Strabuk, Yes!, May 1, 2016
• Trabajadores agrícolas en Bellingham (WA) llaman a boicotear Driscoll’s - By Por Niñx Salvaje, SubVersiones, April 29, 2016
• What’s a Carbon Farmer? How California Ranchers Use Dirt to Tackle Climate Change - By Sally Neas, Yes!, April 29, 2016
• Familias Unidas and Allies Keep Up the Pressure for Contract Negotiation with Sakuma Brothers Farms, Washington State - By Debi Covert-Bowlds, Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest, April 27, 2016
• Farm Workers Are Taking On Poor Pay And Conditions — And Winning - By Joseph Erbentraut, Huffington Post, April 27, 2016