• In the series "En tête à terre", 20 Minutes goes to meet environmental activists of everyday life.
  • It is on a small plot of land, 30 km from Paris, that a dozen environmental activists settled, a little more than two years ago, to block the work of the metro line 18 of the Grand Paris Express.
  • Issa, 28, arrived at the ZAD in the summer of 2022 to take part in the fight against the destruction of these agricultural lands.

From a distance, the ZAD (Zone to defend) of Saclay does not look good. It is on a small plot of land, 30 km from Paris, that a dozen environmental activists settled, a little more than two years ago, to block the work of the metro line 18 of the Grand Paris Express. The sky is gray and the wind blows on the small sheds that occupy this agricultural plot of the Saclay plateau. In this month of February, the facilities of the ZAD renamed "Zaclay", seem rather empty, probably because of the cold that has been raging for several days. But a few diehards continue their fight against the artificialization of these private agricultural lands.

Issa, 28, arrived at the ZAD in the summer of 2022 to take part in the fight against the destruction of this agricultural land in favor of metro line 18, whose drilling work has already begun a few meters away. "I wanted to find a place that speaks to me, and the ZAD de Saclay was a bit of an alternative place in the area when I came back to live with my mother who lives nearby," she tells the camera of 20 Minutes.

A place of exchange and sharing

On this improvised camp, a collective building was built with the means on board, mainly pallet wood. In the main room, a wood-burning stove warms the activists installed in the adjoining sofas, and a French window has been arranged to access the outside, on the opposite side of the road. Some small solar panels recovered and installed on the roof of one of the huts of the place also allow the inhabitants to benefit from electricity. Even if "it bugs a lot," admits Issa.

To bring the place to life, screenings are regularly organized, as well as workshops and readings to exchange with the inhabitants of the ZAD, passing activists, farmers and external supporters.


We can never repeat enough: sign the petition to demand the classification of the exceptional lands of #Saclay and #Gonesse as World Heritage! #SaclayGonesseUnesco#FertilesenPeril FertilelandPeril

The explanations of @FneIDF 👇 https://t.co/C3WSjFpYOB

— Collective Against Line 18 (@nonalaligne18) March 2, 2023

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Legal proceedings in progress

For now, environmental activists are not afraid of being evicted because the land belongs to a family of farmers who have agreed to the installation of the ZAD on their land.

But legal proceedings werelaunched in February 2022 by the prefecture of Essonne against what the State considers to be an illegal structure located in a natural, agricultural and forest protection zone. While the municipality has initiated an amicable procedure with the farmers, owners of the land, so that the activists leave the premises. "Since there has still been no court decision, we are kind of untouchable at the moment," Issa said.

  • Planet
  • 20 minutes video
  • Climate
  • Fight
  • Zad
  • Militancy
  • Activist
  • Ecology