Code Rouge Protests Google Datacenter as ‘Technofascism’ in Belgium
Environmental activist group Code Rouge staged a protest on Saturday near the future Google datacenter construction site in Farciennes, Hainaut province, denouncing the project as “technofascism” and highlighting the environmental costs of large-scale tech infrastructure. The demonstration, held during a major heatwave, drew several hundred participants to the site between Sambreville, Farciennes, and Aiseau-Presles in one of Wallonia’s poorest regions.
Context and Background
Google’s Farciennes datacenter represents a €1 billion investment and is the company’s second Belgian campus, complementing its existing site in Saint-Ghislain, which has been operational since 2009 as Google’s first datacenter in Europe. The Farciennes campus will consist of three buildings totaling 53,000 square meters, located in the Ecopôle eco-business park. Construction began in February 2024, with the first phase of 7,500 square meters expected to become operational in spring 2026.
According to RTBF, the protest was deliberately announced in advance — an unusual move for Code Rouge, which had been the target of large-scale police raids just two weeks earlier. On June 10, 2026, authorities conducted 19 searches across Belgium targeting Code Rouge activists, arresting 15 people, with six presented to an investigating judge and two placed under electronic monitoring. The raids were linked to previous actions against Cargill in Ghent (March 2025) and ArcelorMittal in Charleroi (October 2025).
The Protest and Key Developments
The action, part of Code Rouge’s “Unplug Technofascism” campaign running from June 27 to 29, was deliberately festive in character, featuring speeches, music, and workshops. However, extreme heatwave conditions forced organizers to scale back plans significantly. Participants gathered in a wooded area near the construction site for shade, and in the early evening, police asked them to leave the woods due to thunderstorm risk.
In the evening, a march proceeded toward the construction site, with participants heading to a slag heap overlooking the area. A planned “free party” with DJs and sound system was ultimately cut short by thunderstorms.
Speaking to L’Avenir, Code Rouge press contact Aurélie explained the group’s reasoning: “A datacenter consumes gigantic amounts of electricity, equivalent to two to three times that of the entire population of Charleroi. It also requires enormous amounts of water for cooling. Some is pumped from the Sambre river and discharged warmer, with a potential impact on the natural environment.”
Aurélie further stated: “Technofascism, already present in daily life through pernicious mechanisms, is establishing itself in Belgium through Google’s datacenters.” The group also addressed the recent police raids, saying: “To say Code Rouge is terrorist or criminal is to completely reverse the problem. We don’t destroy human lives. The real criminals are the multinationals that fuel climate crises and conflicts.”
Analysis and Implications
The protest signals growing opposition to large-scale tech infrastructure in Belgium, particularly in Wallonia, where the Farciennes datacenter promises jobs and investment in one of the region’s poorest areas. The “technofascism” framing represents an escalation in rhetoric against Big Tech, while the protest’s public announcement suggests a strategic shift toward transparency following the police raids.
The demonstration also highlights the broader tension between the digital economy’s infrastructure needs and climate goals. Datacenters are significant consumers of electricity and water, and Belgium now hosts over 80 such facilities. The planning permit for Google’s Farciennes site includes environmental conditions: on-site solar panels, a requirement for 90% carbon-free energy by 2025 and 95% by 2030, and an eventual switch from water-cooling to air-cooling with connection to local district heating.
The June 10 police raids and the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM/OCAD) having previously cited Code Rouge in a report about possible radicalization reflect a broader European trend of increased surveillance and legal action against climate activist groups. In response, 56 civil society organizations signed a joint statement denouncing what they called the “criminalization of social movements.”
What’s Next
As Google’s Farciennes datacenter moves toward operational status, the confrontation between tech expansion and environmental activism in Belgium is likely to intensify. The FGTB trade union held a separate action at the same site on March 24, 2026, raising labor concerns, and it remains to be seen whether labor and environmental movements will converge in opposition to the project. The coming months will test whether the environmental conditions attached to Google’s permit are sufficient to address the concerns raised by activists and local communities alike.