Upper Garonne. They came to Vendine to say “No” to the A 69

Several hundred people gathered on Sunday afternoon at the entrance to the village of Vendine, in western Haute-Garonne, to say “No” to the A69 between Castres and Toulouse, and “Yes” to the current RN126. The choice of this entrance to the town is symbolic as the motorway project plans to tear down the magnificent driveway, made up of 28-year-old plane trees, which leads to the heart of Vendine.

“We need to stop calibrating”

Gathered on a piece of field, in a good-natured atmosphere, at the call of the “La via è libera” collective, the opponents of the A 69 began their movement by taking the floor. “This toll motorway is unnecessary as the RN126 already exists and just needed to be developed. In addition, it will loot trees and 400 hectares of agricultural land will be sacrificed,” explains a member of the collective. Marie-Odile, who came as a neighbor from Teulat, finds it “scandalous that a project can be carried out that cuts down trees and crushes wetlands when there is an urgent need to preserve all of this. We need to stop tarring.

Right next to her, this inhabitant of Castres denounces “the promise of development linked to this highway. If we were so isolated, how could we explain the expansion of Laboratoires Fabre? As for Cécile, disguised as Carole Delga, she regrets that “elected officials are no longer consistent in their speeches in which they support the Green New Deal and in their actions in which they support a highway project while sacrificing nature”. Same story for Gilbert Hebrard, former mayor of Vendine for 44 years, who finds it very difficult to have his village massacred. “In my day, we had shown that by doubling the current road, we could just as easily open up Castres. Without breaking everything. We will fight to the end,” he assures.