NDDL

VICTORY ! and an invite to celebrate

Rose Bridger Campaigns, Notre Dames des Landes Airport , , , , , ,

Zad for ever

On the 17th of December Frances prime minister went onto live TV, with the minister of interior on his right hand side and that of the environment on his left. He was going to finally announce the government’s decision about the airport of Notre-dames-des-Landes and the fate of Europe’s largest defensive land occupation, the ZAD.  The destructive infrastructure project, on the western edge of France, has been resisted since its inception 50 years ago, and over the last decade it’s 4000 acres of land have been squatted and turned into a giant laboratory of commoning, with over 100 living spaces and several hundred people occupying and working the land.

Notre-Dame-des-Landes-Edouard-Philippe-confirme-l-abandon-du-projet

The airport has been a thorn in the side of every French government that has ever tried to build it. The prime minister Eduard Phillipe spoke for twenty minutes, the cameras whirled and he tried to remain calm as he announced…

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Welcome to La ZAD

Rose Bridger Campaign groups, Uncategorized , , , , ,

Buzz tour

The ZAD (Zone A Defendre or Zone to Defend) in France is variously described as an occupation, a no-go area of radical militants, a resistance community, and the proposed second airport for Nantes.  During my first visit to La ZAD I explored some of the reasons that people have made this beautiful place their home.

Cycling or driving into La ZAD you may be unaware that you have entered it but after a time you may come to a signpost which no longer has a place name, but instead has ‘ZAD’ spray painted pointing in each direction. Or you may come across a road with artistic barricades, a burnt out car with plants growing through it, or damaged tarmac. Whilst now, all is peaceful farmland, gardens and communities of hand-built houses, it’s clear that something big happened here a few years ago. If you want to orientate yourself and begin to explore this special…

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Defending the zad: A new little book about the struggle against an airport and its world.

Rose Bridger Campaign groups, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

A book written by some of the occupants of the ZAD (Zone a Défendre) – a site in Western France which has been occupied for over 9 years – in resistance against the construction of the planned Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport. Over 5,000 acres of farmland and wetladns would be destroyed. Evictions and mass protests are documented, and the sustained solidarity which has held the ZAD together for so many years. The ZAD is a ray of hope in the resistance against destructive megaprojects.