French police used tear gas to disperse protesters in the western port of La Rochelle. The demonstration was organised by environmentalists and small farmers opposing the construction of large-scale irrigation reservoirs.
Approximately 200 people, including farmers with vintage tractors, gathered at the La Pallice port terminal on Saturday.
They set up a street party complete with music and drinks outside a major grain trader’s facility.
During the morning, more than a dozen police vans and an armored vehicle drove the demonstrators away in a cloud of tear gas, while additional police vehicles blocked access to the port.
Julien Le Guet, a spokesman for the Bassines Non Merci (Reservoirs, No Thanks) movement, stated that the protest in the city on France’s Atlantic coast aimed to demonstrate that the new reservoirs are not intended to support local food production but rather to supply international markets.
Critics argue that the reservoirs, intended to be filled from aquifers in winter for summer irrigation, mainly benefit large agribusinesses at the expense of smaller farms and the environment.
In western France, numerous reservoirs are under construction. Proponents argue that these reservoirs are essential to prevent the collapse of farms, which are increasingly threatened by recurring droughts.
In the previous year, intense clashes between thousands of protesters and police in Sainte-Soline, roughly 90 kilometers (56 miles) from La Rochelle, led to two protesters being placed in a coma and 30 officers being injured.
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