Toulouse: the action of associations for the climate at UT1
This Thursday, May 19, environmental activists organized a protest action at Capitole 1 University, on the sidelines of the summit to “Save the common good”.
Environmental activists lying on the ground in front of the Toulouse Capitole 1 university, in downtown Toulouse. This is the new punchy action carried out by the ANV COP21 collective, Extinction Rébellion or Alternatiba, on the sidelines of the summit to “Save the common good”.
A denunciation of “greenwashing” for associations
ExxonMobil, Amazon, BNP Paribas are all multinationals present at the university on May 19 and 20 to lead round tables. These large companies intervene on themes such as the climate challenge, the return of inflation or the upheaval of the economy that associations denounce as greenwashing. “It’s a marketing operation that aims to make us believe that multinationals dangerous for the climate are in fact respectful of the environment”, underlines Gwaar, engaged in the ANV COP21.
Civil disobedience as a means of action
In front of the entrance to the university, a dozen activists remained on the ground for several minutes while three others, dressed in a long red dress, their faces covered in white, lined the bodies. “It’s chilling”, reacts Clara, a 27-year-old activist, before continuing “for me, it represents human extinction and the victims of global warming”. This action of “die in”, which consists in simulating death, seems to make people react. Christian Gollier, director of Toulouse School of Economics, came outside to meet the collective to discuss and confront their visions. He recognizes the need to change society in the face of a “systemic problem”. Earlier in the day, some activists invited themselves to the round tables by taking the floor to challenge the multinationals. These actions of civil disobedience are the signature of Non Violent Action COP21 to alert on the climate emergency.