Soulèvements de la Terre and the Battle of Sainte-Soline

Soulèvements could lay a claim to be the hottest eco-action group not just in France but all of Europe. Their approach of bundling local environmental struggles into bigger efforts has paid off in several actions with numbers in the tens of thousands, and pointed a way out of the climate movement's traditional confinement in the urban middle classes. Their sense of buzz and energy is such that Europe's other big powerhouse - Ende Gelande - has consciously sought to to emulate the French example.I sat down with Barbara for an introduction to this movement (whose name translates as 'uprising of the earth')We cover:Soulèvements' origins in a 2020 meeting of farmers, anarchists and ecologists at the legendary Notre-Dame-des-Landes occupation.That occupation's significance to French movement historyThe importance of the French peasant movementSoulèvements' core strategyThe specific issue of megabassinesThe Battle of Sainte-Soline and its consequences for the wider movementEditor's note: Barbara says 'impeach' a few times - she's really meaning to say 'prevent' (and is using the French 'empêche')Highlights:"There's hundreds of little fights in France that fight against a project - and that project is is linked to the bigger project that we don't want"End music: De l'eau, le feu ('From the Water, the Fire'), sung at a workshop at Les Résistantes. The song was written to commemorate the Battle of Sainte-Soline and the broader struggle against mega-bassines: its lyrics vividly describe scenes of ecotage and confrontation with the police.https://www.lesglottesrebelles.com/de-leau-le-feu/For more on the Battle of Sainte-Soline, check out this breathtaking documentaryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMJK2YZEa4MFollow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing