Around sixty activists dressed as clowns inside the Total refinery in Donges

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: DAMIEN MEYER / AFP 2:14 p.m., March 23, 2024

Around sixty activists from Extinction Rebellion (ER) entered the Total refinery in Donges (Loire-Atlantique) late Saturday morning for less than an hour, disguised as clowns to denounce “clownery”. of the oil giant, noted AFP journalists. Dressed as clowns, in checkered shirts, red wigs or charlottes and pointy hats, the activists entered the site at the end of the morning through a cut fence. They left the scene and dispersed shortly after noon.

“Make the climate emergency heard”

On a concrete tank about twenty meters high, the activists projected colorful paint and unfurled a large banner on which was written: “End your crimes and your clowning”. “Total has been knowingly polluting for 100 years and putting us all in danger. We are here to make the climate emergency heard, on the site of a criminal enterprise,” Louise, 28, told AFP. Extinction Rebellion activist.

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Between the tanks, in the smell of gasoline, the activists danced while brandishing flags bearing the Extinction Rebellion logo. Several Total employees were on site late in the morning. The police were also present. An international organization, Extinction Rébellion campaigns in particular for "recognition of the seriousness and urgency of current ecological crises" as well as for "the immediate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality in 2025, thanks to a reduction in consumption.