Germany/France

Protesters block French nuclear waste

Article published on the 2008-11-10 Latest update 2008-11-10 12:56 TU

Riot police remove a protester from a railway track in Germany
(Credit: Reuters)

Some 1,000 protesters in Germany are trying to prevent the arrival of a trainload of treated French nuclear waste to Gorleben disposal centre in the northern part of the country. A majority of Germans oppose nuclear power. Last weekend 16,000 police were dispatched to ensure that the train carrying 123 tonnes of waste could inch forward, in the biggest anti-nuclear protests since 2001.

Police used truncheons to break up the demonstrators and demolished barricades set up on the train tracks and set on fire by activists by spraying them with water cannons. Several protesters and police were injured.

The train carrying the waste left western France on Friday. It was delayed on the French side of the border  for half a day on Saturday when three German protesters attached themselves to traintracks.

When the train crossed the German border, another 15,000 activists rallied around the train trying to block the 11 containers of waste. They were joined by 300 tractors holding anti-nuclear banners.

Police said the train reached Dannenberg, between Berlin and Hamburg, in the early hours of Monday morning nearly 14 and a half hours late.

The waste was then transferred to lorries before leaving for its final resting place today in Gorleben, 20 kilometres away.

Police are braced for 1,000 demonstrators along the route. Tractors have blocked the two possible routes the trucks could take.