The Fight for the Larzac refers to a non-violent civil disobedience action by farmers resisting the extension of a military base on the Larzac plateau in South Western France. The action lasted from 1971 to 1981 and ended in victory for the resistance movement when the new President François Mitterrand abandoned the project. The base, used for training French soldiers, was originally established in 1902 on of uncultivated heathland. Michel Debré, Minister of Defence in the Georges Pompidou administration, announced that the base would be extended to and that the land would be expropriated in the public interest. An initial informal resistance movement was formed by 103 landowners whose land was subject to expropriation. In 1973 their cause was taken up by a much larger group of heterogeneous activists, predominantly left wing, and numbering up to 100,000. This activist group descended on the Larzac in support of the peasant landowners and extended the protest to a more general action against what they saw as the militarism of the Pompidou government. This action, once it had achieved its focal aims on the Larzac, was the core of what then became the Anti-Globalism movement and also served to bring to public attention leaders such as Lanza del Vasto, José Bové, and the late Guy Tarlier. Origins of the conflict Announcement of intention On 11 October 1970, during a session of the Union des démocrates pour la république (UDR) (Union of democrats for the Republic), André Fanton, secretary of state for defence, gave the first hint that the base would need to be extended. Le Monde of 6 March 1971 quoted Deputy Delmas, then campaigning for election to UDR, as saying "The extension of the military base is doubtless the last chance for survival of the town of Millau." Millau (,) at the Northern edge of the Larzac plateau, is today world-famous for its spectacular viaduct over the river Tarn. In 1971 it was chiefly known to French families for its sheepskin glove industry in decline and its infuriating traffic jams. Popular resistance to the proposal for the military base was immediately evident. On 28 October 1971, Defence Minister Michel Debré made the formal announcement in a televised interview. The base was to be extended from 3,000 to 17,000 hectares (30 to 170 square kilometers). Land would be expropriated from 107 farms in 12 communes around on the small town of La Cavalerie.