“It’s a matter of the right to protest and the defense of life. Greta Thunberg, present in Paris on the sidelines of a summit for a new global financial pact, was indignant at the government’s decision to dissolve the environmental collective Les Uprisings of the Earth (SLT). The Swedish activist joined the rally on Wednesday, June 21 to support and denounce this decision.
A few hours after the dissolution, pronounced Wednesday morning in the Council of Ministers, the lawyers of the collective announced Wednesday their intention to file an appeal before the Council of State, because it “intervenes in defiance of fundamental freedoms, of which this government has not finally what to do, such as freedom of association […], but also freedom of expression”, underlined Me Raphaël Kempf. “The government does not have a solid legal basis to disband Earth Uprisings. »
And Me Ainoha Pascual, her colleague, clarified: “We dispute even the name of the” de facto group “because The Uprisings of the Earth is a movement which is horizontal, which cannot be dissolved . »
“Now, from tomorrow, when the decree finally becomes effective after its publication in the Official Gazette, what will happen? asked the lawyer. “The more than 100,000 people” who claim to be part of the group will be “liable to three years in prison”, he replied. “Is the government willing to go to the absurdity of putting over 100,000 people in this country in jail? »
“I hope more people will step up against what is happening right now, and stand up for the right to protest,” Greta Thunberg said at the rally in support, which was attended by members of the collective, elected officials, such as as Mathilde Panot of La France insoumise, and organizations.
The government blamed the collective for “calling” and “participating” in violence. “The use of violence is not legitimate under the rule of law and that is what is sanctioned,” said government spokesman Olivier Véran.
“Under the cover of defending the preservation of the environment”, this movement “incites the commission of sabotage and material damage, including by violence”, writes the government in its decree of dissolution. But “no cause justifies the particularly numerous and violent acts” to which it “calls and provokes” and “in which its members and sympathizers participate”, the decree adds.
The government had initiated the dissolution procedure on March 28, a few days after the violent clashes between gendarmes and opponents of the water reservoirs of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) for which it had attributed responsibility to the movement. The procedure, which remained blocked for more than two months, finally succeeded after a new demonstration supported by SLT this weekend, against the Lyon-Turin rail link, marked by scuffles.