“Les Strasbourgeoises and Strasbourgeois engaged”, a podcast by Rue89 Strasbourg. In this series of sound portraits, activists recount their commitment, their journey. Seventh episode with François Zind, lawyer specializing in environmental law.
Bure, Stocamine, the Great western bypass of Strasbourg… François Zind has been the advocate of many environmental battles for more than ten years. However, his first stroke of brilliance was to slam the door of law school to travel around the world. He brought back the desire to commit to the refugees and later to resume studies to defend them. Became a lawyer late in life, specializing in environmental law. It was his encounters with activists, “people who fight on a daily basis, without it being seen and without the desire for notoriety”, which gave him the virus.
François Zind describes himself as a “combat lawyer” and sees himself as a court boxer. Often accused by his colleagues of being more militant than jurist, the Alsatian persists and signs: commitment is for him at the heart of his profession. Despite the defeats and the slowness of justice, the lawyer still perceives a positive evolution: “I hear a desire of the magistrates to be in a more effective protection of the environment”. A trend that makes lawyers hope for the development of true climate justice, capable of imposing on States and companies the respect of their commitments.
