Gujan-Mestras, France – A group of approximately 200 traveler caravans forced their way onto a sports complex in Gujan-Mestras, near Bordeaux, on Sunday, July 28th, after cutting through anti-intrusion wire mesh fencing with a grinder. Teh incident resulted in an injury to a local official and has prompted the town hall to file a complaint and initiate an expulsion procedure.
The unauthorized occupation of the 10-hectare sports complex, which includes an athletics track, occurred in a tense atmosphere, mirroring a similar event from the previous year. Bernard Collinet, responsible for the commune’s security, attempted to block the caravans’ access to the field but was reportedly injured when one of the vehicles overturned the barrier. Xavier Paris, who witnessed the event, described the scene to Le Figaro, stating, “But the caravans forced the passage. one of them overturned it. He came across the grids that had been cut to the grinder and was injured by hand.When I arrived, he had the t-shirt full of blood.”
Jean-Jacques germaneau, president of the local athletics club and an assistant to the town hall, expressed his anger to France Bleu. He highlighted that the complex had previously been occupied by traveler communities, leading to the installation of anti-intrusion fences. Though, the caravans managed to create “necessary breakthroughs,” with the town hall noting the difficulty in implementing deterrent measures that are superior to the equipment used by the travelers.
The town hall has filed a complaint for the destruction of public property and has contacted the prefect of Gironde to expedite the removal of the caravans from the site.
