France is shutting down the environmental activist group Les Soulèvements de la Terre (SLT) for provoking armed protests or violent actions, the government said on Wednesday, a move immediately criticized by the leftist opposition and NGOs, reports US News & World Report.
Interior minister Gérald Darmanin has referred several times to "eco-terrorism" in relation to SLT actions in recent months, saying some activists had showed "extreme violence against police forces".
"Under the pretence of defending the conservation of the environment ... this group encourages sabotage and material damage", said a government decree announcing the shutdown of the group.
The decree referred to several protests that resulted in clashes with police, including those against a farm reservoir in western France in March and a rail link in the Alps last week.
"It's an infringement on freedom of expression, it targets speech and not actions," SLT lawyer Raphaël Kempf said of the decree, adding that they would contest it in court.