The Alsatian rivers have turned fluorescent green. On Saturday, environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion carried out actions "in different places in the city center of Strasbourg, in several cities in Alsace and even across the Rhine," said the collective on Facebook, to denounce the project to bury 42,000 tons of toxic waste on the site of Stocamine, a former mine in Wittelsheim (Haut-Rhin).
Neon green dye was poured into waterways and several fountains in cities. "The dye used, called fluorescein or uranine, is completely harmless to living beings (humans, plants, animals)," insisted the collective. However, according to the mayor of Colmar, Eric Straumann, dead fish were found in the Lauch, more than 24 hours with the dispersion of the product. According to him, the action of Extinction Rebellion activists is directly responsible for the death of fish.
I was alerted by Colmarians to the presence of dead fish in the Lauch after the pollution caused by a...
Posted by Eric Straumann on Sunday, September 17, 2023
"I was alerted by Colmarians of the presence of dead fish in the Lauch after the pollution caused by an environmental movement," wrote the mayor on Facebook. "I myself have seen the impact on aquatic fauna of this dye, which has been dispersed in large quantities and remains very visible more than 24 hours after its dispersal."
An individual arrested
According to the mayor, the perpetrator has been "identified" by the Green Brigades and the procedure against this individual is ongoing. According to Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA), the city plans to file a complaint.
Extinction Rebellion wanted to carry out a "symbolic and spectacular action" against this project to store waste under the Alsatian water table, at the heart of a bitter legal battle. At the beginning of July, the commission in charge of the public inquiry on the project had issued a favorable opinion while it is extremely contested by the inhabitants.
The investigating commissioners had justified their opinion by the fact that the storage site, "if left in condition, eventually constitutes a source of pollution for the aquifer", and that its state "does not allow a destocking of waste". They admitted, however, that "removing the source of pollution would be the best solution."
