How has one anarchist commune protected thousands of acres of land in France from environmental destruction?
In 1965, the French government developed a plan to build a second airport in Notre-Dame-Des-Landes to serve the population of Western France. While the second, larger airport would encourage economic growth, the construction would also ultimately destroy 1,650 hectares of wetland and wipe-out nearly 9,000 acres of green space rich in biodiversity.
For over 50 years successive governments have debated the controversial plan. In 2008, a group of anti-capitalists, eco-warriors, and activists, called the Zadists, joined a group of farmers on the planned site in resistance of the airport plan.
The Zadists built permanent homes and set up farms on the land, as well as a brewery, pirate radio station, online newspaper, and weekly vegetable market. They peacefully lived on the land, protecting it from the governments’ plan.
For years, the Zadists have been staging peaceful protests against the proposed airport, and continued to build a utopian community in which the settlers lived in harmony with the environment. The group received support from Global Greengrants Fund and partner 350.org, in the form of a $6,500 grant in 2016. The grant was used to build a community learning center with a café, library, and a room for community trainings.
After years of peaceful protests, the Zadists celebrated a huge win earlier this year. The Prime Minister of France announced in January that plans to construct the second airport were officially being abandoned.
Unfortunately, La ZAD’s monumental success did not last for long.
Disapproving of the momentum and power the Zadist movement was gaining across France, the French government took forceful action. On Monday, April 9 at 3am, residents of la ZAD were woken abruptly by nearly 3,000 armed police who raided their peaceful community. For the last month, the Zadists have been coping with the threat of losing their homes due to eviction by the government.