About 2,000 activists in France plan to demonstrate on April 22 against the building of the new A69 Toulouse-Castre highway in the Tarn region in the south. This was reported by the television network BFMTV.
The Environmental Protection Association has called for protests this weekend. The network notes that authorities are preparing heightened measures to maintain public order.
As anticipated, roughly 1.5 to 2 thousand people are expected to participate. Approximately 800 gendarmerie and police officers will be on duty to manage the crowds. Police assess that between 150 and 200 demonstrators who camped in the city of Saiks may have intended to create disturbances.
The planned €500 million motorway segment would connect Castres in the Tarn to the Shipyards in Haute-Garonne, effectively linking with the A68 motorway east of Toulouse and the Castres ring road by 2025. Officials justify the project by the aim of easing traffic around these two urban centers and improving overall safety on the routes. Environmental groups counter that the road is neither necessary nor beneficial for the environment, arguing it could encourage sprawl and harm local ecosystems.
Earlier reports indicated that President Emmanuel Macron’s public approval had fluctuated amid broader social unrest in France, including protests over pension reform. One polling result noted a record-low figure for government support among respondents at the time.