The Guardia Civil and the French National Gendarmerie have arrested in France two members of the Spanish environmental organisation Futuro Vegetal as alleged perpetrators of the sabotage committed against a petrol station in the French town of Laruns in the early hours of 8 September.
The two detainees have several arrests for other actions carried out as members of Futuro Vegetal. They took part in the blockades of the M-30 and M-40 highways in Madrid in December 2022 and April 2023, respectively.
They also took part in the actions carried out by Futuro Vegetal in the summer of 2023 in Ibiza, where they entered the airport security zone. In addition, one of them took part in the activists' break-in at the Congress of Deputies on 30 January 2023.
The Guardia Civil explained that Futuro Vegetal framed, in a publication on its website, the sabotage against the gas station within its strategy for the 2023-2024 course, describing it as "an action of solidarity with E.S., an Argentinean citizen prosecuted for an act against a multinational electricity and gas energy supply company".
Futuro Vegetal also pointed out that this action was not only a response to this persecution, but also "to all the damage that the multinational is causing all over the planet". The publication also included a video of the action.
All of this led to a police investigation in which the Information Headquarters of the Guardia Civil participated with the collaboration of the Information Groups of Navarra and Huesca, and the French authorities. This is the first international police investigation into crimes committed by members of Futuro Vegetal outside Spain.
The investigation has come to an end with the arrest of the two members, who are charged with the alleged crimes of degradation with two aggravating factors, multiple perpetrators and concealed face, according to French criminal law. Both, prominent members of Futuro Vegetal, carried out the action with their faces covered.