Perched in front of the Ministry of Ecological Transition in Paris, Thomas Brail, a climber and tree defender, has been on hunger strike for 22 days. He is protesting against the controversial A69 motorway project between Castres and Toulouse and its environmental consequences.
Juliette Mitoyen – Yesterday at 7:16 p.m.
Sunken cheeks, dark circles around his eyes, tired features… Despite everything, Thomas Brail keeps smiling when he receives us at the top of the tree he occupies on Boulevard Saint-Germain, in Paris. It is in this plane tree located just opposite the Ministry of Ecological Transition that this defender of trees has set up a camp from which he – almost – no longer comes down.
Thomas Brail does not live in harness 24 hours a day and has not slept at twelve meters height for more than a week for pleasure: for 22 days, this professional arborist climber has been on hunger strike to protest against the planned A69 motorway in Occitanie, which will link Toulouse to Castres.
Thomas Brail in his plane tree on Boulevard Saint-Germain, in Paris, on Friday September 22. Photo EBRA/Juliette Mitoyen
“It’s a 53-kilometer highway that will destroy 400 hectares of agricultural land, 17 hectares of wooded areas and raze hundreds and hundreds of trees […] All this for 17 euros round trip and saving between 10 and 12 minutes compared to the Nationale which already exists [35 minutes selon une enquête publique, NDLR] », he denounces.
Through his hunger strike, Thomas Brail is calling for the suspension of the construction site, at least while waiting for the four appeals filed on the merits against the project to be judged.
11 kilos lost
For more than three weeks, Thomas Brail has lost more than 11 kilos and, according to him, “no longer has any strength”. “I still stand up a little. I have to work my legs because I have lost muscle mass,” he explains, estimating that it will take him between “one to two months” to physically recover from such a hunger strike. .
Thomas Brail is not his first attempt. The man who founded the National Tree Surveillance Group (GNSA) and the “squirrel” movement – a group of climbers who cling to the top of trees threatened with felling – has already saved many.
First in 2019, in his home town of Mazamet (Tarn), where the municipality wanted to cut down century-old plane trees. He had held on to them and saved most of them. In 2022, he repeated the experience, also going on a hunger strike to save trees threatened by the construction of a luggage storage facility under the Eiffel Tower.
“Mr Emmanuel Macron, will it be necessary to monetize the lives of human beings to stop the destruction of nourishing lands? », asks a sign at the bottom of the tree in which Thomas Brail is located. Photo EBRA/Juliette Mitoyen
But in the case of the A69 motorway, the work actually began on August 31 with the felling of “majestic 50 meter high trees planted during the Napoleonic era”, laments Thomas Brail.
Since he took up residence in the plane tree on Boulevard Saint-Germain, he has only come down twice. A first to go to the hospital due to chest pain. A second time to meet the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune. But the interview was in vain.
“In human terms, I have nothing against him. And he announced that several other highway projects would not see the light of day. But we have one point of disagreement: the A69. We both stuck to our positions. »
On Clément Beaune’s side, we highlight the fact that the motorway project is supported by local elected officials, including the president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga. “We are going to further reduce the environmental footprint. There will be five times more trees replanted than felled,” the minister also told several media outlets in recent days.
“But if the minister doesn’t move, I don’t move. And I am known for being determined: when I say something, I do it,” assures the defender of trees, father of a six-year-old boy.
Thirst strike from Monday
Many local residents come every day to support Thomas Brail, boulevard Saint-Germain. The climber is also supplied by Squirrels and members of the GNSM. And he has no time to get bored: “Every day, between five and six journalists come up to see me. It’s growing,” he says happily. Several deputies also visited him, at the bottom and at the top of his tree, like Sandrine Rousseau or Marine Tondelier, national secretary of EELV.
The situation could progress, in one direction or the other, in the days to come. “On Monday, I will go on a thirst strike. There, I will only be able to last three days,” warns Thomas Brail. But what will he do if he is not heard by the government? “We are in the country of human rights, right? I don’t think they’ll let me die in front of the ministry, he replies. I have good hope. »
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