Jose Bove is back in jail to complete his sentence for destroying a McDonald’s restaurant in France in 1999. (He later said he was “shocked that we were being treated as criminals,” as his squad of vandals “explained to police in advance that the purpose of the rally was to dismantle the McDonald’s.”) In addition to leading a band of militants to tear down the restaurant, he has also rallied mobs of anti-technology activists to obliterate fields of genetically improved crops.
When sentenced in December, there were tears in the eyes of many of Bove’s supporters, but not just because their hero was going to the slammer. Over 100 Bove-ites crammed into the courtroom and caused such a disturbance that riot police were forced to fire teargas into the building. Bove has warned that his followers would continue their violent actions: “For us, this combat will not stop.”
