There were candles in the night in memory of the 23-year-old environmental activist who lost his life during anti-nuclear protests in France on Sunday. He, along with others, managed to break through a police cordon and chain himself to railway tracks near Avricourt to prevent the shipment of nuclear waste from France to Germany. The driver of the French train making the delivery saw the protesters too late, and, despite using the emergency brake, he ran over the victim. One of his legs was severed. He died of his injuries before he could be evacuated to hospital.

It appears the group hid in woods by the track, taking advantage of the police helicopter refuelling to dash onto the tracks just after a 100 kilometre per hour bend. Organisers would normally avoid such areas precisely because they fear tragedies such as this.

Copyright © 2012 euronews