Gendarmerie officers prepare tear gas canisters, on April 13, 2018 at the ZAD (Zone a Defendre - Zone to defend) in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, western France, during a police operation to clear the decade-old camp. Over the last 10 years, environmental activists had turned the area into a utopian experiment in autonomous living, put up makeshift buildings, which the government says have to go so the site can be redeveloped. The activists vowed to stay put ahead of the evacuation operation, arguing that their camp was a model of sustainable farming in an area with unique flora and fauna. / AFP PHOTO / Fred Tanneau