2nd day of abandoned airport site's evacuation turns violent in W. France

PARIS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Pelted with projectiles on Tuesday, French police fired teargas to force scores of protesters to leave a site in western France that has been home to squatters for years, and which was slated to become a new airport project, BFMTV news channel reported.

As the second day to evacuate Notre-Dame-des-Landes (NDDL) site turned violent, three police officers were wounded and two activists suffered injuries, according to the report.

Speaking to LCI television, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said a number of people had been arrested.

A total of 2,500 police were deployed on Monday to evict the squatters, a group of farmers, ecologists and anarchists who call themselves ZADists (Zone to Defend).

They have been squatting at the site where the government had planned to build a new airport before it decided to drop the project in January.

"The operation can last until the end of the week. With no doubt, there are people who will come back, we'll be vigilant. The bet... is that farmers forge the future of the territory," the minister said.

Thirteen illegal constructions have been dismantled so far and twenty others will be demolished in the coming days, he said.

In January, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the government's decision to abandon a controversial project to build an international airport at NDDL, ending five decades of protests.

Following the government's decision, protesters have been ordered to leave the site after they succeeded in getting the airport project abandoned. Enditem