In October 1970,
Michel Debré, then Minister of Defence, decided for strategic purposes to expand a military camp outside the village of La Cavalerie in the
department of
Aveyron, from 30 km2 to 170 km2, without consulting the local population. Local farmers objected and decided to fight against the project, through actions such as the occupation of empty farms purchased by the Army in anticipation of this expansion. French syndicalist and peasant activist
José Bové moved there during this period in support of the protests. Communards from the nearby Community of the Ark, led by the pacifist
Lanza del Vasto, were also very active in opposition to the camp. The workers of the occupied and self-managed
LIP factory also took part in the movement. Following ten years of
nonviolent resistance, the plan was cancelled by President
François Mitterrand after his election in
1981. Because of its history, the Larzac was chosen as the site of a massive meeting against the
WTO which took place in August 2003.
José Bové currently resides in the Larzac area; he secured nearly 500,000 votes in the
2007 presidential election. He became a
Member of the European Parliament in
2009. ==Sights==