weeks. On 21 October 1977, trials of Larzac activists took place in Millau. A smörgåsbord of charges included disobedience of authority, removal of army property, blocking traffic, etc. The hearings were much disrupted by the deliberate release of a flock of sheep in the courtroom. Organisation of the collective To run the campaign, an executive committee was formed and put in charge. Once general assemblies became more frequent, regional committees (Larzac-East, West, North, South and La Cavalerie) were formed. A rule, never broken over the ten years of the campaign, was that only residents of the Larzac had voting power in the general assemblies. Decisions were normally made by consensus, with the exception of decisions pertaining to negotiations with the government in 1977; these were by democratic vote. Meetings were held at least weekly for the ten years of the campaign. The organisers were in frequent contact with other civil disobedience actions elsewhere in France, as well as the anti-nuclear movement. Another bergerie was built at the site of the proposed nuclear power station at Plogoff, and the Larzac contributed 20 ewes to the action. About 150 committees were formed to encourage and support various political actions, not just in France but in other European countries. 28 October 1978 saw a national day of action organised by the Larzac committees. Marches, meetings, and hunger strikes were attended by tens of thousands of sympathisers. Jean-Paul Sartre sent a letter of support, including these words In 1975 the movement started its own newspaper, Gardarem lo Larzac. The first edition was published on 6 June and the journal eventually had 4,000 subscribers. In February 1979, local referendums were organised in the surrounding communities of Millau, Creissels, and La Couvertoirade (a medieval city of the Knights Templar.) 88 to 95% of the electorate voted NO to the extension of the military base. Victory In May 1980, the Cour de Cassation, France's appeal court of last resort, annulled the 66 expropriation proceedings. Once François Mitterrand was elected President on 10 May 1981, he declared the base extension project formally abandoned in the Council of Ministers. Property already acquired by the State for the project was leased back to the private company Terres du Larzac (Larzac Soils). Victory was complete but Lanza del Vasto did not live to see it. He had died on 5 January, at the age of 79. Further reading March 1981 issue