A construction site transformed into a “battlefield”. Four machines from the A69 motorway construction project, which is to connect Castres and Toulouse, were set on fire during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in Saïx (Tarn), we learned from the company Atosca, in charge of works, and the Castres parquet floor.
“Three tracked excavators and a compactor were completely destroyed,” said Atosca, noting the arrival of around thirty hooded people on a company site, who will file a complaint. The Castres public prosecutor's office confirmed that several devices had been damaged and that a gendarmerie investigation was underway, but did not provide further details on the facts.
A new mobilization on Sunday
The socialist president of the Tarn departmental council, Christophe Ramond, “condemned with the greatest firmness” these acts in a press release. “Since the start of the project, there have been 200 attacks and damages. 80 complaints have already been filed,” he assured. “The State must quickly call on those responsible for these despicable acts which are transforming the A69 construction site into a battlefield,” added Christophe Ramond.
Since the start of the project, environmental defense organizations have expressed their opposition to the new infrastructure which is due to come into service at the end of 2025. The next mobilization is planned for Sunday in Toulouse.