March against the Castres-Toulouse highway: the punch action in the trees of Thomas Brail
By Paul Halbedel
Published on
He climb trees to better defend them. From Tarn, Thomas Braille is the founding president of National Tree Monitoring Group (GNSA). His fight for the climate cause, this nature lover has chosen to lead him in the air. Like the action he orchestrated this Friday, October 21, 2022, in the town of Vendine.
As part of the Great march against the future A69 motorway organized by the group The way is clearthe arborist climber and one of his acolytes have hang a banner several meters highbetween two trees that have to be felled for the needs of this road infrastructure project that will connect Castres a Toulouse. On this one, a clear message: “15 minutes gained, thousands of trees destroyed”.
“Public utility is to preserve the living”
If Thomas Brail had already publicly supported opponents of the highway, this time he encouraged organized minds with this action on the road leading from the village of Vendine to the N126. This portion of the D11 is indeed bordered by a forty trees that must soon be felled since they are located on the route of the future highway.
These are not only old subjects but in addition, all play a role. They make it possible to cool the roadway, which is not neutral in the context of global warming that we are experiencing. They ensure the development of biodiversity. […] Today, we are here to say that we oppose this highway project which will destroy 400 hectares of agricultural land and thousands of trees. The urgency today is not to win 15 minutes. The emergency is environmental. This project was thought up 20 years ago, explaining that it was of public utility. Today, the public utility is elsewhere: it is to preserve the living.
Four days of walking
This hanging banners but also nesting boxes in order to eliminate the role played by these trees for the fauna, was accompanied by a second symbolic action.
All the trees to be felled have been surrounded by a black band on which each manifesto could write their first name or a message symbolizing their struggle.
This is one of the actions that will punctuate this four-day march on the route of this highway that we are fighting. We left at 35 this morning from Verfeil, we were 60 in Teulat and we are a hundred in Vendine. The purpose of this walk is to identify all along the route the scope for diversity. And we will put this inventory back on the prefect’s office on Monday in Castres.
Before ending their march, opponents of the Castres-Toulouse motorway are authorized to carry out other punch actions throughout the weekend at Cuq Toulza, Puylaurens or Soual.
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