Cambodian Peasants Against the Bolloré Group

After 11 representatives of the Bunong ethnic group in Cambodia were denied visas to go to France to attend judicial proceedings against plantation company, Bolloré, the hearing was postponed until October. In 2015, Bunong peasants in Cambodia sued Bolloré group for destroying several hectares of forest in order to grow rubber. This action deprived the Bunong of their means of subsistence. The Bunong, a community that practices “an animistic belief based on the sacredness of forests,” also blame Bolloré for destroying their places of worship and centenarian trees considered to be deities. The purpose of the hearing is to compel Bolloré and its subsidiary, “Compagnie du Cambodge,” to present documents proving that they exercised legitimate “operating power” over the areas leased for rubberwood. Read more about the grievance and the case (in French) here and here.