More than 7,000 apple trees were plundered in Tarn Farms’ orchard. The property’s manager suspected a group of local residents was responsible, but the latter denied it.
Destroyed orchard. More than 7,000 apple trees were uprooted on the night of Thursday 13th July to Friday 14th July, on the grounds of the Vontorp estate, in Lafore (Tarn). Operations manager Lucas Crosnier suspects the local people’s association Vrais Nature Environment (VNE) is behind the rampage, which the organization denies. Here’s what we know about this case.
Scions were torn from apple trees and thrown to the ground
A plot of three hectares of fruit trees was damaged in the Fonterbey district, almost 1% of this exploitation which extends over 325 hectares and employs a hundred people. On Friday morning, the property manager and his team noticed the damage: Over the entire rooftop, patches of apple trees had been snapped and thrown to the ground.
“It’s (from) human stupidity. I’ve seen some of my employees steal 100% of their work over the past three months.”
Lucas Crosnier, Director of the Fonturbey DomainIn France Bleu Occitanie
Lukas Crosnier told our colleagues to do just that France Blue Occitania that Freshly grafted apple orchards They were interested. “We’re doing the math and hopefully it won’t destroy the assets.”The operator added, confirming that the renovation of the orchard represents him ‘a lot of investment’.
Association in question and who denies
The property manager suspects that members of the local residents’ association are behind the damage. The split surface is “in disintegration”He explained that some of the organic plots belong to traditional farming. However, on July 1, the association Vrais Nature Environment organized a citizens’ rally, which took place quietly, to challenge this option to return to traditional farming, recalls France Bleu Occitanie.
This act of vandalism comes fifteen days after the march (…) And then we had a legitimate feeling that constructive exchanges could continue. The destructive action of which we were victims last night tends to show that the will of some armed men is but a show.In a statement I have seen, Lucas Crosnier criticized him France 3.
For its part, the VNE Association denied any responsibility. “We regret the acts of destruction of the orchards, for which the Vrais Nature Environment is in no way responsible and which is in no way connected with the work of our association”She confirmed on Facebook, explaining that it didn’t fit her “Etiquette of Representation, Peaceful and Legal”.
“It’s not a job done by the association, it’s not our style of work,” Olivier Chollet, a VNE representative, insisted with AFP. “We condemn this act, it harms us, and we call for calm.”he added.
Conflicts with the local population in the past
Relations between the domain of Fonterbey and the local population were already strained in the past. In April 2021, he was the director of the orchard They burned tons of straw to protect his trees from frost. The fumes had poisoned about twenty souls. The population had moved in and the mayor of Laforet, Bernard Caraylon (Les Républicains), had lodged a complaint.
In March 2022, he recalls France Blue OccitaniaLucas Crosnier is taken into police custody for using pesticides. Subsequently, the Tarn section was placed on orange alert with strong winds and this practice is prohibited in high winds to prevent the products from being spread onto neighboring properties.
Soon after, the domain of Fontorbe File a defamation complaint against five environmental associations, the Confédération paysanne du Tarn and a director, after the broadcast of the documentary entitled We are smokers: when an apple poisons our lives. The film denounced the dangers associated with pesticides during the spread. Last April, the Castries Court announced “void” the subpoenas, a decision that was gleefully received by VNE.
Essay on “Degeneration in Society”
Lucas Crosnier filed a root-going complaint this week. The Castries Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the “deterioration in a meeting”, holding that the extent of the damage was such that it could not have been carried out by a single individual.
governorate “strongly condemns this action”, but it has nothing to do with the protest that took place two weeks ago. Prosecution also considers that the elements “Do not allow to select” Whether environmental activists are responsible for the damage.
Political reactions of indignation
Elected officials were quick to respond. “Obscurvism, the thought police, agrarian choices. This is where verbal excess and misinformation lead to topics that don’t support caricature. We won’t give up.”Citing a group tweet Save the Fruit and Vegetable France, which brings together gardeners and tree growers, Agriculture Minister Marc Visnot wrote on Twitter.
The mayor of Lavor told AFP that, according to him, the march organized by VNE, “direct link” with damage. “We know it comes from part of the protesters.”Regrettably, Bernard Caryon reassured “Extreme environmental activists’ year-long obsession against these groves”. The leader of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, denounced it Twitter affiliate Acts of destruction and destruction from “Their owners must now be severely punished by justice, their owners systematically prosecuted, tried and convicted.”
