Julien Coupat

Last updated

Julien Coupat (born June 4, 1974 in Bordeaux) is a French political activist. As one of the Tarnac Nine, he was arrested on November 11, 2008 and accused of terrorism in connection with a plot to sabotage French train lines. Coupat spent over six months in jail before being released on bail; he was held for a significantly longer period than other members of the Tarnac Nine because French police believed him to be the leader of the group, which they described as an Anarchist cell.

Contents

Since the time of the 2008 arrests, the legal case against Coupat and the other members of the Tarnac Nine had weakened. On August 7, 2015, French judge Jeanne Duyé ordered that the specifically terrorist related charges against the group and against Coupat be dropped; [1] On January 10, 2017, the French Supreme Court upheld this decision. [2] [3] Following this, Coupat and the other members of the Tarnac Nine were still expected to face various lesser charges. On April 12, 2018, Coupat and other members of the Tarnac Nine were acquitted of the most significant remaining charges, particularly conspiracy and sabotage, although some members were still convicted of lesser, symbolic charges, and ordered to pay fines. [4] [5]

Biography

Julien Coupat is the son of a medical doctor and a theater troupe director. [6] After studying business at the École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC), he switched to social sciences at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) but did not complete his doctorate. [7] [8] In 1999, he co-founded a radical philosophy magazine called Tiqqun before setting up a commune in 2005 in the village of Tarnac in the Corrèze department where he and his friends ran a farm and an all-purpose store.

The TGV sabotage affair

On the night of 7–8 November 2008, Coupat and his partner Yildune Lévy went for a car ride and played cat-and-mouse with police cars following them. Their trip included a 20-minute stop in Dhuisy, in the Seine-et-Marne department, by their account for a sex session in the vehicle. [9] Their car was parked near a train line in one of the locations where iron hooks were left dangling from the overhead lines that night, paralysing the high-speed TGV network.

On November 11, gendarmes raided the Tarnac farm and arrested nine residents in connection with the sabotage. Four of the nine were released on November 15, under conditions. A further three were released on December 2, and the last but one, Lévy, on January 16, 2009. [10] Coupat remained in jail until May 28, 2009, when he was released under bail with instructions to remain in the Paris region and have no contacts with the other 8.

Controversy

The arrests were publicly applauded by Interior minister Michèle Alliot-Marie who described the suspects as "an anarcho-autonomist cell" and Coupat as its leader. A judge first ordered Coupat's release on December 19, 2008, but the judicial services immediately appealed, using a highly unusual procedure. [11] The French police said he was part of the Invisible Committee of the book The Coming Insurrection , which was denied by the publisher and Julien Coupat himself.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TGV</span> State-owned intercity high-speed rail service of France

The TGV is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph) on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocket and Concorde supersonic airliner; sponsored by the Government of France, those funding programmes were known as champion national policies. In 2023 the TGV network in France carried 122 million passengers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNCF</span> National state-owned railway company of France

The Société nationale des chemins de fer français is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic along with that of Monaco, including the TGV, on France's high-speed rail network. Its functions include operation of railway services for passengers and freight, as well as maintenance and signalling of rail infrastructure. The railway network consists of about 35,000 km (22,000 mi) of route, of which 2,600 km (1,600 mi) are high-speed lines and 14,500 km (9,000 mi) electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Casablanca bombings</span> Series of suicide bombings by Salafia Jihadia militants

The 2003 Casablanca bombings, commonly known as May 16, were a series of coordinated suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. Twelve suicide bombers loyal to the Salafia Jihadia organization detonated bombs hidden in backpacks in the Casa de España restaurant, the Hotel Farah, the Jewish Alliance of Casablanca, and sites near the Belgian consulate and an old Jewish cemetery. The attacks, which were later claimed by al-Qaeda, were the deadliest terrorist attacks in Morocco's history, claiming the lives of forty-five people and injuring at least 100. Despite deliberately targeting Jews, none of the victims were Jews as the attack occurred during Shabbat.

<i>Tiqqun</i> French anarchist philosophical journal

Tiqqun was a French-Italian Post-Marxist anarchist philosophical journal or zine, produced in two issues in February 1999 and October 2001. Topics treated in the journal's articles include anti-capitalism, anti-statism, Situationism, feminism, and the history of late 20th century revolutionary movements, especially May 1968 in France, the Italian Years of Lead, and the Anti-globalization protests of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The journal's articles were written anonymously; as a result, the word "Tiqqun" is also used to name the articles' collective of authors, and other texts attributed to them.

Semiotext(e) is an independent publisher of critical theory, fiction, philosophy, art criticism, activist texts and non-fiction.

The Tarnac Nine are a French group of nine alleged anarchist saboteurs: Mathieu Burnel, Julien Coupat, Bertrand Deveaux, Manon Glibert, Gabrielle Hallez, Elsa Hauck, Yildune Lévy, Benjamin Rosoux and Aria Thomas. They were arrested on 11 November 2008 in an operation carried out by French police throughout Paris, Rouen and particularly Tarnac, rural France. The operation resulted in twenty arrests, of whom eleven were released almost immediately afterward. The remaining nine who were held for questioning, and who on 15 November were variously listed as suspects and accused of crimes, then became known as the Tarnac Nine. One year later, Glibert's husband Christophe Becker was also arrested in Tarnac in connection with the matter; as a result, the group is also sometimes known as the Tarnac Ten.

<i>The Coming Insurrection</i> French political tract

The Coming Insurrection is a French radical leftist, anarchist tract written by The Invisible Committee, the nom de plume of an anonymous author. It hypothesizes the "imminent collapse of capitalist culture". The Coming Insurrection was first published in 2007 by Editions La Fabrique, and later (2009) translated into English and published by Semiotext(e). Last Word Press in Olympia, Washington also published an edition. The book is notable for the media coverage which it received as an example of a radical leftist manifesto, particularly from American conservative commentator Glenn Beck. The Coming Insurrection is also known for its association with the legal case of the Tarnac Nine, a group of nine young people including Julien Coupat who were arrested in Tarnac, rural France, on 11 November 2008 "on the grounds that they were to have participated in the sabotage of overhead electrical lines on France's national railways". The Tarnac Nine were variously accused of conspiracy, sabotage, terrorism, and being the author(s) of The Coming Insurrection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouigo</span> SNCF low-cost rail brand in France, Belgium and Spain

Ouigo is a low-cost service range of both conventional and high-speed trains run by SNCF in France, and also to Belgium in cooperation with NMBS/SNCB. The literal translation of Ouigo from French to English is "yes go"; the name is also a play on words with the English homonym "we go." It is composed of two different services: Ouigo Grande Vitesse, which is a brand of SNCF operating high-speed trains; and Ouigo Vitesse Classique, a brand under which Oslo, a subsidiary of SNCF, operates conventional speed trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroduplex</span> French high-speed train

Avelia Euroduplex, more commonly known simply as Euroduplex or TGV 2N2 in France, is a high-speed double-decker train manufactured by Alstom. It is primarily operated by the French national railway company SNCF, and also in operation with the Moroccan national railway company ONCF. It is the 3rd generation of the TGV Duplex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dijon-Porte-Neuve station</span> French train station

Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is a French train station located at Junot Avenue in Dijon. It is in the Côte-d'Or department, within France's Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is the secondary station for the city of Dijon, with the primary station being Gare de Dijon-Ville. TER trains take six minutes to go from one station to the other, crossing the city. Gare de Dijon-Porte-Neuve is an SNCF train station, served by TER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté trains.

The Denguin rail crash occurred on 17 July 2014 when a TER passenger train collided with a SNCF TGV express train near Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. Forty people were injured, four seriously.

Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based on a political program and periodic congresses. Instead, insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization and small affinity group based organization. Insurrectionary anarchists put value in attack, permanent class conflict and a refusal to negotiate or compromise with class enemies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Invisible Committee</span> Anonymous author or authors

The Invisible Committee is the nom de plume of an anonymous author or authors who have written French works of literature based on far-left politics and communization. The identity of the Invisible Committee has been associated with the Tarnac Nine, a group of people including Julien Coupat who were arrested "on the grounds that they were to have participated in the sabotage of overhead electrical lines on France's national railways."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bourdon</span> French lawyer (born 1956)

William Bourdon is a French lawyer of the Paris Bar Association who practices criminal law, particularly specializing in white-collar crime, communications law and human rights. He particularly specializes in defending the victims of globalization and crimes against humanity. He has been with Bourdon Simoni Voituriez since 1979. He is widely considered one of the most powerful international lawyers

Peter Cherif, also known as Abu Hamza, is a French Islamic militant who has been a member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He is also believed to have assisted the planning of the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avelia Horizon</span> High-speed train type made by Alstom

The Avelia Horizon, called TGV M by its main customer SNCF, is a high-speed passenger train designed and produced by Alstom. It has a broadly similar design to the TGV Duplex sets, with bi-level carriages and a push–pull configuration with a power car on either end. However, it is more energy efficient and provides lower operating costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TGV inOui</span> Brand name of premium TGV train services

TGV inOui is the brand name of premium TGV train services operated by SNCF since 27 May 2017 on certain high speed rail services. SNCF is in the process of replacing 'classic' TGV services with the premium inOui and low-cost Ouigo brands in preparation for the future opening of France's high-speed rail infrastructure to competition. The name 'inOui' was adopted because it resembles the French word inouï meaning “extraordinary”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNCF Voyageurs</span> SNCF Travellers state-owned enterprise in charge of operating passenger trains

SNCF Voyageurs is a state-owned enterprise founded on 1 January 2020, an independent subsidiary of the French National Railway Company (SNCF), in charge of operating passenger trains.

The 8 December 2020 case refers to the arrests of nine French citizens who had joined the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) by French authorities in December 2020. Having volunteered to fight with the Kurdish forces against the Islamic State and having returned to France in 2018, they were designated as far-left extremists by the General Directorate for Internal Security and were arrested in a series of raids on 8 December 2020. Seven of the nine were then criminally charged with associations with terrorism. The case is the first far-left terrorist case to be brought to court in France since the trial of Action Directe in 1995, and has been marked by controversies over mistreatment of the accused in detention and about the strength of the evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 France railway arson attacks</span> Arson attacks in Paris during 2024 summer Olympics

On 26 July 2024, the day of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, a series of arson attacks damaged the LGV Atlantique, Nord, and Est lines of the French high-speed railway system. International and domestic rail services were widely disrupted, with around 800,000 passengers affected. There was also an attempted attack on LGV Sud-Est line, though it was interrupted by TGV maintenance workers who happened to be on site.

References

  1. ↑ Deviller, Sophie (August 8, 2015). "French 'anarchist cell' cleared of terror charges over rail sabotage". Yahoo. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ La justice écarte définitivement la qualification d'acte terroriste dans l'affaire Tarnac, Le Monde 10 January 2017
  3. ↑ Affaire Tarnac :La justice écarte définitivement la qualification d'acte terroriste , La Croix 10 January 2017
  4. ↑ Chrisafis, Angelique (April 13, 2018). "Leftwing 'anarchist terror cell' is fiction, French judges rule". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ "Sabotage d'une ligne SNCF :relaxe pour les principaux militants du groupe de Tarnac". France Inter . 12 April 2018.
  6. ↑ Willsher, Kim (March 13, 2018). "French 'anarchist cell' goes on trial for alleged TGV rail sabotage". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ « Julien Coupat, étudiant brillant et chef présumé des saboteurs », NouvelObs.com, 18 novembre 2008.
  8. ↑ SNCF : Julien Coupat, itinéraire du supposé saboteur Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine , Le Point, 2 décembre 2008
  9. ↑ Ce que contient le dossier d'instruction, Le Monde 25 March 2009
  10. ↑ Chronology Le Monde
  11. ↑ « Un pas vers la liberté pour Julien Coupat », Libération, 20 décembre 2008
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.