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The hearse with horses left the coffin in Trafalgar Square, with a sign that read "Our Future." The driver then decided to chain himself to the wheels, while the members of the procession made the dead in the street. Half a kilometer beyond, at the gates of Downing Street, hundreds of protesters joined a "sitting" shouting "Climate action, now!". In Parliament, the protest was baffled, with the complicity of the anti-Brexit hosts.

There have been a total of 12 points chosen for the 'lock' to London called by Extinction Rebellion or XR, as the civil disobedience group created a year ago in the United Kingdom is already known worldwide, in its second international call followed in more than 50 countries and with epicenter Berlin, Paris, New York, Melbourne or Madrid.

"The 7-O Climate Rebellion has begun," was the slogan launched at eight o'clock on Monday morning on the Paseo de La Castellana. More than 300 climate activists have joined the protest that has culminated in the occupation of the Raimundo Fernández de Villaverde bridge and camping before the Ministry of Ecological Transition to demand "urgent action against the climatic emergency".

Late in the afternoon, the number of detained activists amounted to 276 . Among them, Sarah Lasemby, 81, a former social and Quaker worker, one of the most veteran protesters. And also an 83-year-old grandfather, Phil Kingston, for making a graffiti in the Ministry of Defense: "Life and not death for my grandchildren."

The organizers have not hidden their intention to overcome the barrier of the 1,000 arrests they reached in April. This time there are more than 4,000 activists taught in "nonviolent" resistance techniques, with instructions such as giving up bail bonds to regain freedom. The mayor of London, Labor Sadiq Khan, has given his support to the goals but has condemned the "disruptive tactics" of climate activists. In New York there were more than 20 detainees in the Extinction Rebellion actions, most of them staging a massacre with fake blood before the Wall Street bull.

Halfway between the carnival and the Greek tragedy, XR activists have held an "opening ceremony" on Sunday night at Marble Arch, where the climate camp will be installed for the next two weeks, following the trail of movements such as 15-M and the Occupy movement.

"We cannot tolerate the destruction of our beautiful planet," can be read in the Rebellion manifesto against extinction, with the pressing hourglass as a symbol. "We have to tell the truth: we are moving towards extinction. Up to this point we have arrived despite decades of environmental activism. We cannot keep screaming in the dark. To stop we will have to get into jail."

Fergus Partridge, 47 , and the father of three children, has joined the sit-down next to Downing Street and has said he is willing to hit his bones in jail. "The kids have given us all a great lesson by joining Fridays for Future strikes, despite the desperate attacks they have launched against Greta Thunberg," warns Fergus, with his "Rebel for Life" sign hanging from his sweater. "Now it's time for adults to take action: we don't have much time left if we want to avoid ecological collapse."

Jeffrey and Joanne Sanders, frying the 60s and thinking about their grandchildren, also joined the sitting down Downing Street and have learned the lesson. "What do you intend with these protests?", We ask. "First of all, tell us the truth and assume the seriousness of the situation. The second goal is to set a much closer date for the goal of 'zero emissions': 2050 is not worth it, it should be 2025 or before 2030, as dozens of British municipalities have already committed. And finally the creation of citizen assemblies, such as the one that already works in Oxford, to find solutions from the local. "

"Science has been warning us for 30 years: we are taking the planet to a destructive spiral," warns Grail Bradbook, "godmother" of the movement, professor of molecular biophysics and mother of two daughters. "As a scientist, I know what is at stake: we have barely 10 years to curb ecological destruction and to avoid uncontrollable climate change. Despite all the alarms, politicians remain without acting and without changing this economic system that is killing us. We cannot remain obedient if the social contract has been broken. "

The first wave of XR actions - from the occupation of the London bridges to the 'striptease' in Westminster in the middle of the Brexit session, going through the 'punch' on the Stock Exchange and in the Ministry of Economy - led to the symbolic declaration of "Climate emergency" in Parliament (sponsored by Labor Jeremy Corbyn) and with the last commitment of the then premier Theresa May to reach "zero emissions" in 2050.

Michael Gove, at the time Secretary of the Environment, met with a delegation of XR and even the conservative tabloids ended up recognizing the great impact on public opinion of the actions that covered the front pages of the newspapers for two weeks, including the spectacular ' die in 'under the blue whale skeleton in the Natural History Museum.

The good predisposition has changed in a matter of months, and now it is the tabloids who accuse activists of being willing to block hospital emergencies in their disruptive eagerness. The police have gone on the charge seizing the paraphernalia beforehand and breaking into the collective infrastructure. "They are using very questionable tactics that directly infringe the right to demonstrate peacefully," denounces Richard Ecclestone, a former police officer who has joined the group outraged by the "political paralysis of the climate crisis."

Cathy Eastburn, one of the 1,000 arrested in the actions of April, has returned these days to the load in the pages of 'The Hourglass' ("rigorous journalism for fragile times"), the monthly newspaper that passes from hand to hand among the XR activist: "On April 17 I got on a train in Canary Wharf and was arrested. It was one of the most painful and powerful experiences of my life. Frankly, I don't know why I'm doing this ... Maybe because the The future of our children and humanity is in danger. "

"Fear cannot paralyze us"

CARLOS FRESNEDA

"Fear cannot paralyze us, we have to take action," says Clare Farrell, designer and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion. Farrell is one of the most visible faces of the group after the 'lock' to London Fashion Week, denouncing the contribution of the fashion world to climate change. "Mass civil disobedience is the fastest way to promote social change, history is full of examples," he says. "We are facing a climate emergency situation. That is why we are willing to protest without violence, to cause disruption and to let ourselves be stopped if necessary ... People have to open their eyes to the truth of the ecological disaster we face if we do not change of course. That is why we demand the creation of citizen assemblies, to propitiate change from the local and spread the message on a global scale. Politicians cannot respond with inaction or delaying the objectives until 2050. We need solutions now! "

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