As they were preparing to take off from Cannes-Mandelieu airport on Saturday, May 20, the passengers of a private plane made a very curious encounter. On the track, a remote-controlled car blocks their way, releasing a cloud of green smoke, preventing any departure. This action, to say the least, was claimed by the environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion to "highlight the absurdity of the lifestyle of the ultra-rich".

"Is it really time to burn those liters of kerosene to walk a red carpet for a few seconds? Stop private jets, the spotlights are elsewhere," the collective posted photos of its action on Twitter.

In the middle of #FestivaldeCannes2023, #ExtinctionRebellion @AnvCop21 @attac_fr activists brought remote-controlled cars equipped with smoke bombs onto the tarmac of #Cannes-Mandelieu airport, blocking the way to a private jet preparing to take off 🛬 #Cannes2023 pic.twitter.com/7T9RISbtfw

— Extinction Rebellion France 🐝🌺 (@xrFrance) May 20, 2023

If at first glance this event may seem somewhat anecdotal, it is not the only one of its kind to have taken place during the Cannes Film Festival. On the same day, about fifteen Attac activists unfurled a long banner reading "Let's not let the ultra-rich destroy the planet", in front of four huge yachts in Port Canto, in the old port of the city.

"While we must collectively and individually reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the Cannes Film Festival is an indecent spectacle, with its stars arriving by private jet before going to have an aperitif on a yacht," denounced the group in a statement, castigating the double standards between the "working and middle classes who are asked to make efforts to sobriety" and "stars and billionaires who exonerate themselves from the efforts. collectives".

15 @attac_fr activists unfurled a banner "Don't let the ultra-rich destroy the planet" in front of the mega-yachts of Cannes to denounce the lifestyle of the ultra-rich, irresponsible and disconnected from the issues of climate 👇change https://t.co/W7AuHcvCAN

— Attac France (@attac_fr) May 20, 2023

According to estimates from the "Mega yacht CO2 tracker" account, which closely monitors the activity of these luxury boats on the Croisette, one hour of use generates about 2 tons of CO2 emissions, or nearly a quarter of the average annual carbon footprint of a Frenchman.

Hollywood stars in the viewfinder

To make their voices heard during the Cannes Film Festival, the environmental activists involved in these actions do not hesitate to use the "name and shame" technique to put pressure on big polluters by attacking their image. After the criticism aimed at Tom Cruise's visit in 2022, with arrival by helicopter and overflight of the France patrol, it is now the hobbies of another Hollywood superstar that create controversy: Harrison Ford, received with great pomp on the Croisette to present "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny".

On Sunday, during an interview on France 2, the actor launched into a real plea for the climate cause. "If we don't move our asses now, we're going to lose this planet!" he hammered fervently, accusing climate skeptics of having created this situation by their denial.

"If we don't kick our ass now, we're going to lose this planet!"

Harrison Ford's rant in an exclusive interview with @LaurentDelahous, tonight in #20h30ledimanche and to review on https://t.co/PaFR6Ej5Lf #Cannes2023 pic.twitter.com/SyP9sZYrAk

— France 2 (@France2tv) May 21, 2023

Involved in many humanitarian causes, Harrison Ford had already spoken on the subject at the UN.

Problem? The star is not quite a white dove when it comes to energy sobriety. Addicted to flying, he owns several private planes himself and has said in the past "being so passionate about aviation" that he "often goes up the coast to eat a cheeseburger".

Ecology losing momentum?

These accusations of double talk on the climate issue are not reserved for the superstars of the Croisette. In 2021, the festival's secretary general Thierry Frémaux and its former president Pierre Lescure announced twelve ecological measures, aimed at drastically reducing plastic waste, switching to electric vehicles and promoting the recycling of materials and in particular the famous red carpet.

To compensate for the enormous pollution generated by the travel of stars by plane, the Festival de Cannes has also adopted a policy of financing ecological projects. But its flagship project, supposed to guarantee the protection of a forest in Zimbabwe, was sharply pinned in an investigation by the investigative site Disclose, published a few days before the opening of this 76th edition. The organizers are accused of engaging in "greenwashing".

In 2021, a special climate "ephemeral selection" was also set up by the organizers in order to "symbolically embody" the festival's commitment to the environment. It featured films by Cyril Dion, Aïssa Maïga and Louis Garrel, on the extinction of species, drought in Niger and ecological awareness among the youngest.

"We are the first festival to display environmental convictions," said Thierry Frémaux, believing that "awareness and defense of the planet are also played out in cinema". It is clear that over the past two years, climate issues have become more discreet in the films screened at Cannes.

Mutations and acid rain

During the 2023 edition, two French feature films still address this theme through science fiction. Presented at the opening of Un Certain Regard, "The Animal Kingdom" by Thomas Cailley plunges Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos into a world in the grip of a mysterious epidemic that generates animal mutations in humans. Mixing intimate exchanges and spectacular scenes, this fantastic feature film explores the relationship of Man to his environment as well as the question of transmission.

"Acid", by Just Philippot with Guillaume Canet, is a nightmarish drama of anticipation, in which toxic rains, generated by pollution, break a period of intense drought. Presented in the parallel section Acid, dedicated to innovative and experimental cinema, this film is distinguished by its virtuous mode of production that earned it Sunday the Ecoprod prize, created in 2022 to reward, each year during the Cannes Film Festival, the most eco-responsible film.

"Acid" is a deeply distressing cinematic UFO that manages to transcribe with formidable efficiency the climate of anxiety that rises and invades the media space to the tipping point.

In the film, not all characters perceive the climate threat in the same way. "It's the end of the world every two days" says one evening Michael, played by Guillaume Canet, turning off the news, causing an argument with his daughter, visibly more lucid about the events to come. Yet, at this stage, personal moods do not matter. Because when acid rain comes, it spares no one.

Cannes © Film Festival Graphic Studio France Media World

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