France has told residents to avoid non-essential water use such as washing cars and watering gardens. But activists complain that golf courses are allowed to continue watering greens. The protest action took place at the Vieille-Toulouse club and also at the Garonne des Sept Deniers stadium. Defending their exemption from water restrictions, Gérard Rouzier of the French Golf Federation told news website France Info: “A golf course without a green is like an ice rink without ice.” Extinction Rebellion Toulouse posted a photo on Twitter apparently showing a golf hole filled with cement and a sign reading “This hole drinks 277,000 litres. Do you drink that much? #StopGolfing.” A petition aimed at scrapping the drought exemption enjoyed by French golf courses said: “Economic madness takes precedence over ecological reason.” Water bans are imposed at the discretion of regional officials, and so far only Ille-et-Villaine in western France has banned golf course watering. France was worst hit by the hot and dry conditions across Europe, with firefighters battling a “monster” blaze in forests in south-west France.
