Nantes airport: thousand-strong protest over farmer eviction court hearings

Backers of proposed airport to north-west of French city seek eviction of farmers in case that has become symbolic for French environmentalists

More than 1,000 protesters thronged the entrance to a court in Nantes on Wednesday as a hearing began that could evict the last 11 families living along the route of a proposed airport.

Ai(C)roport du Grand Ouest (AGO), a subsidiary of Vinci Airports, is requesting fines of up to a1,000 per person per day against hold-out farmers, as well as the seizure of farm properties and animals.