REPORTAGE
It must have been a paradise for promotions. But Black Friday turned into a nightmare for some customers on Friday. In the largest shopping center in Europe, at La Défense near Paris, environmental activists have carried out "Block Friday" actions to denounce overconsumption, causing the closure of some stores. Nearly a hundred activists from Youth for Climate and Extinction Rebellion walked a good part of the afternoon in the alleys of this huge center, shouting as loud as possible their slogans hostile to this day of sales.
"We hallucinate in the face of their violence"
Whenever these activists pass in front of a shop, the shop lowers its curtain. This is obviously a victory for these protesters. But many stranded consumers do not understand these actions, like Rita, very angry, even if she admits to "understand the cause". "There are ways to do," says the client, who denounces the violence and the words used by the displaced protesters against the visitors of the mall as it.
"We do not ask people to go live in the forest," tempers Clara, a member of the movement Extinction Rebellion. She does not understand the hostility of the mall's customers towards the protesters. "We must slow down consumption, but it's not easy to get our message across," admits Clara. "People are very angry, we hallucinate against their violence."
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This joint action by Youth for Climate and Extinction Rebellion was to continue until the mall closed Friday night. The police, positioned outside the building, have chosen for the moment not to intervene. They will only do so if these activists stop demonstrating peacefully against Black Friday and overconsumption.