page_title: Zone to Defend
section_title: Notre-Dame-des-Landes
hierarchical_section_title: Zone to Defend / Notable projects / Notre-Dame-des-Landes
caption_attribution_description: English: A barricade at the Notre-Dame-des-Landes ZAD. The banner reads: AGAINST THE AIRPORT AND ITS WORLD
context_page_description: Zone to Defend or ZAD is a French neologism used to refer to a militant occupation that is intended to physically blockade a development project. The ZADs are organized particularly in areas with an ecological or agricultural dimension, notably in the permanent blockade village which helped to defeat the Aéroport du Grand Ouest, a proposed airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, north of Nantes. However the name has also been used by occupations in urban areas, for example in Rouen, and in Décines-Charpieu. One of the movement's first slogans was 'ZAD everywhere' and though there are no official figures, in early 2016 there were estimated to have been between 10 and 15 ZADs across France.
context_section_description: ZAD Notre-Dame-des-Landes (also known as ZAD NDDL) is the most well-known 'Zone to Defend' in France. Located in the Loire-Atlantique department near to Nantes, it is a very large mostly agricultural terrain of 1,650 hectares (4,080 acres) which became nationally famous and has resisted several concerted attempts by the French state to evict it.
  The squatters joined the long struggle against an airport, the Aéroport du Grand Ouest (AGO). It was announced in 2018 that the plans for the airport were cancelled and also that the squatters would have until spring to leave. In April 2018, a largescale eviction operation began as the French state tried to regain control of the autonomous zone. After 10 days (April 19), the police had fired 11,000 projectiles.
  The eviction was halted on April 26 and said it would be frozen until at least May 14. The truce came about as representatives of the ZAD negotiated for legal recognition for 28 projects. Some projects agreed to file individual claims, whereas other refused to participate in the process. On Thursday, May 17, the eviction operations resumed.
caption: A barricade at the ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes (2012). Banner reads: Against the airport and its world.
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