Report from the International Mobilization against Mega-Basins, July 2024
Confronted to the devastating impacts of a changing climate and the ruthless abuses by the agro-business and big industry, peasants and citizens around the world have seen their right to access, use and manage freshwater under increasing threats and pressure. The struggle for water is amplifying globally, and a new chapter of this conflict was recently written in France.
From the 16th to the 21th of July 2024, 30 000 people gathered in the region of Poitou-Charentes to protest against the grabbing of water by the agro-business. Organized by more than 120 organisations, associations, trade unions and collectives including Les Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprisings) and Bassines Non Merci (BNM), an entire camp was installed to host the thousands of people that responded to the international call to mobilise. After months of preparation, the Village de l’Eau was born.
For years, associations, collectives and habitants from the region have protested against the mega-basins (mégabassines in French). These huge basins of water, up to 18 hectares in size, are built to pump and store groundwater from the underlying aquifers during winter so that farmers can use it in summer to irrigate their crop. While many mega-basins have already been built, hundreds are still in the pipeline around the country.
Why are these projects crystallising all the tensions around water? To start with, they disrupt the water cycle by preventing the underground water from replenishing local rivers and lakes, leading to disastrous impacts on local fauna and flora. They also enable a massive privatisation of this critical common resource, since only 6% farmers will ultimately be able to use the water stored in the reservoirs. Plus, the water will mostly be used to irrigate intensive, production-driven monocultures destined to be exported, a very profitable and emblematic technology designed by and for the agro-business to save their obsolete, profit-driven agricultural model.
In March 2023, following to call from Les Soulèvements de la Terre, thousands of protesters targeted the mega-basin of Sainte-Soline to participate in a mass sabotage action. The repression was severe: armed with “weapons of war” (yes, literally), the police launched more than 5000 grenades against the protesters, injuring 200 people, including 40 severely. Two comrades ended up in coma.
This time, the strategy of the movement has changed. The approach was focused on care for the protesters and using less confrontational tactics. A care base was set up with multiple components (medication, psycho-emotional support, legal team, etc.). While some people feared that the trauma of the repression of Sainte-Soline will reduce the mobilization, day after day, the camp kept welcoming more and more people.
This shift was reflected in the festival-style atmosphere of the Village de l’Eau. The site hosted giant marquees, stalls, a ‘mega-canteen’, a bar, camping areas, and a space for children. There were also many discussions, conference, ‘round tables’, training sessions and naturalist walks in the area.
In parallel, the organizers had announced plans for two major actions: Friday at the nearby site of a future mega-basin, and Saturday 20 outside the agro-industrial terminal of the port of La Rochelle. On Friday, despite the bans and last-minute changes in the itinerary, thousands converged towards Terrena, one of the mega-cooperatives responsible for building the mega-basins. All was going well, until the police decided to burn down the field where the demonstrators were standing. On another site, the parallel deployment of a convoy of 600 bicycles experimented with new forms of naturalistic disarmament: using ingenious systems attached to kites, kilos of duckweed was thrown into the reservoir from the air.
On Saturday, the day began with a surprise blockade of the port of La Pallice and the grain trading company Soufflet, another major promoter of the mega-basins, by a convoy of farmers’ tractors. This successful appearance once again demonstrated the farmers’ commitment to the anti-basin campaign. The mobilisation then continued in the town, with more than 10,000 people making their way towards the port, joined by catamarans and kayaks. Although the two processions that set off from the town centre did not make it to the port because of the aggressive police presence, the agro-industrial terminal’s activities were brought to a halt and those responsible for the land and water grab were clearly named. The day ended with a mythical collective swim in a farandole on a beach in La Rochelle.
Back to the Village, at night, a grand finale party followed the declarations of the many internationalists that came to support the cause. Delegates from Rojava, Mexico, Spain, Chili, Palestine, Kanakye, and many more were present to stress that the fight to defend water is not just a local issue but a global one. The struggle is necessarily internationalist and requires the full solidarity of all towards the movements that, despite the repression, are continuing to resist.
Following the closure of the Village de l’Eau, the organisers, the farmers, trade unionists, activists and residents of the areas, reiterated their demand to adopt a moratorium on the mega-basins, so that the projects can be frozen and democratically re-discussed in order to find a way out of this crisis. They warned that the festive and determined mobilisations will continue … until this is achieved.
Some useful resources to find more information (both in French and in English):
- Soulévement de la Terre (Event page): https://lessoulevementsdelaterre.org/en-eu/blog/19-20-juillet–mobilisation-internationale-stop-me
- Program of the event (English) https://soulevements.cdn.prismic.io/soulevements/ZnqNM5bWFbowe1Jd_Call-1.pdf
- Partager C’est Sympa (Youtube recap): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YYiGpZ-UC
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