Valais revolts

The Médiathèque Valais - Martigny invites you to a screening of two films about revolts in the Valais, notably in Saxon. The screening will be complemented by a talk from the Valais State Archives about the events depicted in the films!

"1953, the revolt

Directed by Laetitia Sauthier, Patricia Vaudan and Stève Gilloz

Running time: 32 minutes

In Valais, the peasantry has a reputation for being passive and rather quiet. However, on August 7, 1953, an unprecedented uprising made the farmers' voices heard. A general sense of discontent gripped the population, who were called to the Saxon railway station to protest against the import of foreign fruit. Demonstrators occupied railroad tracks, burned wagons and cut down trees to express their discontent and revolt for their survival.

"A country where the peasant no longer earns a normal living is a very sick country" Jean Daetwyler, composer-musician

"Fluor, a peasant struggle

Directed by Patricia Vaudan and Stève Gilloz

Running time: 26 minutes

In 1908, the Valais entered the industrial era with the arrival of aluminum production. The factories produced fluorinated fumes that soon began to damage the environment: vegetation, animals and even workers suffered from the pollution. Despite this, no remediation measures are envisaged. In 1975, the apricot harvest was catastrophic. Farmers mobilized to denounce the scandal. It took more than 10 years of media coverage and legal action, as well as the blasting of several electricity pylons, before the responsibility of the factories for the fluoride pollution was recognized. One of the first environmental battles won in Switzerland.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.