NEWS: French Court Releases 49 Accused of Destroying GM Crops, page 1

A French appeals court ruled that 49 people detained for destroying two fields of Monsanto GM corn to be released. The court found that while the fields were legal under French law, the constitutional requirement for "maintaining a healthy environment" justified their actions. Green deputy Noël Mamère, who has faced similar charges, praised the ruling, calling it a "great victory" and a "historical first."

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PARIS (Reuters) - the appeals court of Orleans (Loiret) released 49 people who had destroyed two fields of genetically modified corn in 2004 and 2005.

The court found that they had acted "in response to a danger of the consequences of releasing GMOs into the environment, even though their use is permitted under French law, even though it’s in contravention with the constitutional law on maintaining healthy environment".

The Green deputy Noël Mamère, himself found by a court in Toulouse for the same act, was delighted by a "great victory" and a "historical first".

"It is at the will of the president of the Republic who introduced the environmental “Precautionary Principle” into the Constitution, he told Reuters.

"For the first time in the history of justice, a French court comes to give legal backing to this principle and it is a great victory for rights."

Noël Mamère requests from now on the final acceptance of the anti-GMO and a democratic debate in Parliament on the subject.

The American firm Monsanto, owner of the two destroyed fields, had claimed 398.000 euros in damages.

Translation from the original French from ¡No Pasarán!

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I'm not familiar with French law or its constitution at all, but this sounds absolutely ridiculous to me. This court found that people can break laws and destroy property because they think something is bad for the environment?!?!?

What does this mean for France's many nuclear power plants? Can anti-nuclear activists now storm nuclear plants in an attempt to shut them down for environmental reasons?

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
NEWS: French Activist Jailed Over Destruction Of GM Crop During Protest.

[edit on 12/9/2005 by djohnsto77]