The police evacuated, this Thursday, September 2, about fifteen environmental activists who had occupied for about four months the allotment gardens of the Virtues in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The “jadists” evacuated by the police
In a press release, the prefecture of the department explains that these plots were “illegally occupied”. “Rehabilitation and securing work has begun in order to allow the resumption of construction sites”, specifies the prefecture with reference to the construction of the future swimming pool. In fact, this morning, as soon as the evacuation was completed, a large excavator was at work destroying the sheds and other installations made in recent weeks by those who are now nicknamed the “jadis” (for JAD, Gardens to defend) of Aubervilliers.
The excavator has replaced the wheelbarrow
A depressing spectacle for Camille, mobilized to save these gardens. “These gardens have been cultivated for 100 years, they are very rich, well-kept soils and here we are destroying them with big diggers driving over them while the only vehicles that have entered so far are wheelbarrows”, laments the young man.
A project denounced by environmental activists
The basin to be built is intended for the training of athletes during the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, before opening to the general public. In Seine-Saint-Denis, sports infrastructure, especially swimming pools, is lacking. But the construction of this aquatic center in Aubervilliers requires the razing of 4,000 square meters on these gardens, which are centuries old, and which constitute a veritable green lung in the city.
Opponents denounce a “ecological aberration”. Perinne, a student from Grenoble, passing through Paris, came to support the evacuees this morning as soon as she heard the news on social networks. “It’s one of the useless projects that we don’t need today, especially since there is an increasingly urgent artificialisation of the soil”, says the young her.
Legal recourse
Dolores, one of the gardeners mobilized from the start, certainly expected this evacuation, but not immediately. Especially since at the beginning of the week, she filed, with two other gardeners and two environmental associations, an interim appeal to denounce the building permit issued for the swimming pool. “Our lawyer has just filed a summary of suspension to stop the work, so they are evacuating us while the work must be suspended”., she says.
Evacuated but not defeated, the “jadis” announce that they will continue their mobilization against this swimming pool. A complaint was filed for illegal destruction of property after the evacuation. A call to gather was launched this Thursday at 6 p.m. in front of the town hall of Aubervilliers.
–
