Stun grenade going off next to a group of protestors

Sainte-Soline - Nouvelle-Aquitaine - France

In the French region of Deux-Sèvres, local farmers have been mobilising for months against a publicly funded construction project which aims at creating a set of large reservoirs to retain water. The project is considered by many as an environmental disaster as it necessitates levelling large portions of land and drain groundwater from the region. Most local farmers say that they do not need it. - In support, between 20 and 40 thousand activists from all over western Europe have gathered to stop the construction this Saturday, setting camp a few miles away. After a similar gathering last autumn which was severely repressed by the French state, government officials such as Gerald Darmanin, minister of internal affairs, called the activists "eco-terrorists" and used the label to mobilise a large military police force to suppress the movement. In total, 9 helicopters, dozens of trucks and 2 armoured vehicles were mobilized to protect the construction of the basins. - Protesters were faced with water cannons, tear gas, rubber rounds, stun grenades and hundreds of flash bangs. At least 200 were wounded according to the organizers (7 according to government officials) including 3 in critical condition, one being in a coma. Protesters responded with coordinated attacks on the military police resulting into several burnt vehicles, 28 wounded officers (one also in critical condition) and an incursion onto the construction site leading to sabotage. The police also allegedly barred ambulances from evacuating protesters according to the NGO Human rights League.