The ZAD: an autonomous zone in the heart of France

In a heroic struggle of solidarity and resistance, locals and activists of the ZAD have been fighting against the construction of an airport for many years. by Martin Legall in ROAR Magazine It all started decades ago with the local resistance against the construction of a second airport near the city of Nantes in western France. Eight […]

Thousands of protesters gather at proposed French airport site

Thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday at the site of a controversial planned airport in western France in a last-ditch attempt to prevent construction. France 24. Protesters, who have been camped out in the so-called ZAD (acronym for “Zone to Defend) at Notre-Dame-des-Landes near the city of Nantes are determined not to let the bulldozers move […]

Resisting airport expansion, from the ZAD to Heathrow

Kelvin Mason speaks to John Jordan who is squatting the site of a planned airport in France for Red Pepper magazine (UK). The ‘Zone À Défendre’ – the zone to be defended – is a 4,000 acre land occupation to stop the development of a new Nantes airport near the village of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. The ZAD has […]

From our anti-airport occupation in France, we send solidarity to the Heathrow 13

Camille Vincent writes on life at the six-year ZAD protest site, and the parallels to the battle against Heathrow expansion, in Red Pepper Magazine UK ‘Vegetables, not asphalt!’ Tractors join the protests against the airport. Photo: laetitiablabla/Flickr In Notre Dame des Landes, in the wetlands of the west of France, there is a project to build […]

France: 60,000 people protest against new Nantes airport as climate hypocrisy

A mass mobilisation brought tens of thousands of Nantais and people from across France together on two roads in Bretagne, the 4 lane Nantes-Vannes and Nantes-Rennes, to oppose the construction of the Notre-Dame-Des-Landes (NDDL) new airport project by construction company Vinci 30 km north of Nantes. The project is widely seen as climaticide and not […]

France: 5000 rally in Rennes against #NDDL #ZAD evictions and airport construction

5000 people joined a rally in Rennes, France, on Saturday to stop the Notre-Dame-Des-Londres (NDDL) proposed airport and the evictions of historical occupants from the site. From IndyBay. The event was called “backhoe cycling” and provided three assembly points with processions which took off at 11 am to converge on the city of Rennes Town […]

Nantes airport: thousand-strong protest over farmer eviction court hearings

Backers of proposed airport to north-west of French city seek eviction of farmers in case that has become symbolic for French environmentalists – from The Guardian. Demonstrators hold banners to protest against the expulsion of the families and farmers from land that would permit the construction of a new airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, outside the courthouse […]

How an anti-airport occupation became a battle for France’s future

Emilie Papillon reports from the ZAD – an occupation of the site of a proposed airport that has turned into something more – Red Pepper Magazine UK After avoiding the police checkpoints, heading down road D42 and passing multiple barricades made out of wood, tires, hay bales and anything else burnable, you will eventually find yourself […]

Rural Rebels and Useless Airports: La ZAD – Europe’s largest Postcapitalist land occupation.

A long read, written in the heat of the struggle during the autumn and winter of 2012 when the french state attempted to evict the zone and thousands responded with creative forms of resistance and rural riots.