Larzac

In October 1970, Michel Debré, then Minister of Defence, decided for strategic purposes to expand a military camp outside the village of La Cavalerie in the department of Aveyron, from 30 km2 to 170 km2, without consulting the local population.

Local farmers objected and decided to fight against the project, through actions such as the occupation of empty farms purchased by the Army in anticipation of this expansion.

French syndicalist and peasant activist José Bové moved there during this period in support of the protests.

Communards from the nearby Community of the Ark, led by the pacifist Lanza del Vasto, were also very active in opposition to the camp.

[2] Following ten years of nonviolent resistance, the plan was cancelled by President François Mitterrand after his election in 1981.