“Not experienced in Germany”: Luisa Neubauer finds the Paris police particularly rough

“Not experienced in Germany”
Luisa Neubauer finds the Paris police particularly rough

May 26, 2023, 5:49 p.m

French police use tear gas during protests against energy giant Total. According to the climate activist Luisa Neubauer, the security forces are tougher than they are used to in Germany.

The climate activist Luisa Neubauer has criticized the actions of the French police in the protests against the energy company Total and its planned oil pipeline in East Africa. It was worrying that tear gas was being used in “huge amounts” against people who were demonstrating peacefully, Neubauer said on the sidelines of the demonstrations in Paris. “I’ve never experienced that in Germany.”

Many protesters had already left for the venue of Total’s shareholders’ meeting in the morning and wanted to enter the building, which had been guarded and secured since the previous day. Police carried away activists and used tear gas to stop protesters from blocking. There were several arrests.

“We see a global tendency that climate activists are increasingly being criminalized, even in large democracies such as Germany and France,” said Luisa Neubauer. The demonstration in Paris is not a place where activists can feel safe.

Criticism of billions in profits from the crisis

Climate protectors hold large energy companies responsible for the consequences of climate change because they still cling to fossil fuels. They all made billions in profits because of the energy crisis resulting from the Ukraine war.

It is no longer morally and politically justifiable to want to continue making profits with such corporations, said Neubauer to AFP. “You can invest your money elsewhere, you can go to corporations that don’t shred our livelihoods with their business DNA.”

The French government also tightened its tone on Friday. The group should “work hard” for renewables, said Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher.