In France, dam is the catalyst for a flood of young people’s anger

LISLE-SUR-TARN, France — The protests began a year ago in this quiet corner of southwestern France, as a small and peaceful gathering of hippies, environmental activists and utopians of all types set up tents to oppose the construction of a nearby dam.

In August, after local authorities sent diggers and then crushing machines to level the soil and destroy trees, clashes erupted between protesters and the police, turning this vast stretch of woodland into what many here called a war zone.

More than a hundred protesters, joined by a minority of violent groups, responded to tear gas and rubber bullets by throwing fire bombs. They built makeshift checkpoints, roadblocks and two watchtowers. Finally, last weekend, a 21-year-old student, Rémi Fraisse, was killed after being hit by a stun grenade that protesters say was thrown by a police officer.