France: Police have detained 17 suspected vandals in connection with the 10 December 2023 invasion of Lafarge France’s Val-de-Reuil concrete plant in Normandy. The attack resulted in €450,000-worth of damage. The L'Echo Républicain newspaper has reported that invaders attacked equipment with expanding foam, poured concrete into water outlets, broke windows and damaged cement bags. Spray-paint graffiti left at the site reads ‘Tomorrow will be without concrete or will not be,’ ‘Lafarge terrorist’ and ‘Concrete kills,’ and also compares concrete suppliers to drug dealers. Further tags include the logo of Soulèvements de la Terre (‘Earth Uprisings’), a nation-wide climate protest organisation. The arrest of suspects on 9 April 2024 led to a 200 people-strong protest for their release.
Soulèvements de la Terre had warned of planned actions affecting Lafarge France sites on 9 - 12 December 2023. It named the Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou concrete plant in Pays de la Loire, over 200km away from the Val-de-Reuil concrete plant, as a site for a ‘gathering.’
In response to the warning, Lafarge France said on 8 December 2023 “The people who intend to respond to this call for mobilisation against our sites have the wrong target. Of all industrial sectors, ours is moving the fastest and strongest in favour of the climate. Moreover, we are useful to society. The country's needs for housing, public facilities and infrastructure are immense, and concrete represents the best solution to meet them.”
