A Message to the Earth Uprisings - What grows back everywhere can’t be dissolved ! [ENG version]

The Earth Uprisings (Les Soulèvements de la Terre) is a young movement that brings together climate activists, farmers, unionists, autonomous anticapitalists groups and people involved in local territorial struggles. Over the last 2 years, Earth Uprisings have led some 20 actions of mass blockades, land occupations, and ’disarmament’ (term used for mass sabotage against climaticide and toxic infrastructures) to defend the soil and water from the hands of criminal industries. In March, after a brutal repression of a demonstration to protect water, the French government announced that it would seek the dissolution of the Earth Uprisings. This threat initiated a massive wave of support for the movement, as well as new actions by participants. Here’s our reply, along with a call to resistance. A few words and links about Earth Uprisings in France The French movement Earth Uprisings (Les Soulèvements de la Terre) brings together climate activists, farmers, unionists, autonomous anticapitalists groups, as well as people involved in local territorial struggles and ZADs. The movement began in January 2021, emerging from the observation that only a radical shift – an actual uprising – could stop climate breakdown and the 6th mass extinction which is underway. The goals of Earth Uprisings are to take collective direct actions and to weave together a network of local struggles, whilst promoting a larger scale movement of resistance and land redistribution. In the past two years, we have led over twenty blockades, land occupations and ’disarmament’actions (term used for mass sabotage against climaticide and toxic infrastructures) to defend the soil and water from the hands of criminal industries. In the past two years, the movement’s dynamism has continuously increased. With the diversity of alliances created, the size of the mobilizations, the festive camps and the direct impact of actions, the mouvement has represented a growing threat to the politics of the State and industrial powers. The struggle against “mega-basins“ (huge reservoirs of privatised water for agro-industry initiated by our comrades from Bassines Non Merci) became emblematic and was accompanied by a series of collectives attacks and sabotages of mega-basins in a context of severe drought. During our last mass action on March 25th against the construction site of a mega-basin in Sainte-Soline, which mobilized over 30,000 people, the State went to war against those fighting for water. It deployed 3500 armed police who attacked us with more than 5000 grenades, wounding and mutilating over 200 activists. A few days after, the French government declared that it would make Earth uprisings illegal, by announcing its formal dissolution. Since then, 100,000 people have publicly announced their membership in the movement, and more that 150 local committees have been created. It would appear that the attempt to criminalize and disappear a movement has produced its exact opposite here. This is also happening in a period of social unrest marked by massive strikes, demonstrations and riots against the pension reform in France. At the moment, and thanks to this huge wave of support, it appears that the government has suspended its threat. New mass actions have been organized by Earth Uprisings in the last 2 weeks in order to block the construction of motorways and the clearing of forests in Toulouse and Rouen. Others are planned against sand quarries destroying farmlands: on the 11th of june near Nantes, and against the digging of the TAV highspeed traintunnel (NO TAV movement) on the French side of the Alps on the 17th and 18th of June. We hope to make more international connections in the coming months to confront ecocidal politics! ## A video of 2 years of action by Earth Uprisings in less than 2 minutes : ## “We are water defending itself ! An international call to strengthen alliances for water and to support the struggles against mega-reservoirs in France!“ -- After the repression In Sainte-Soline and the announcement of the dissolution, an international call was issued ## A longer text offering a history and analysis of Earth uprisings - this text was written for an international tour before the event of Sainte-Soline. Part of it has therefore to be updated but it still offers a presentation and reflection on the first 2 years of the movement -