In Dijon, activists lie in the street to call for a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar
“Mouth pictures“, “cup of shame“, “Red card for Qatar“. These are the messages that could be read on the placards of the militants ofExtinction Rebellion Dijon
this Saturday, November 19. They gathered on Place François-Rude, in the city center, for a punch action where they lay down on the ground to challenge passers-by. They are asking for a citizen boycott of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar which starts this Sunday, November 20.
The boycott of competition
Activists denounce an ecological and human tragedy. They intimating to François Rebsamen, the mayor of Dijon, who announced a few weeks ago that the City would not boycott the event
. The mayor even spoke of giant screens in the city if the Blues reach the semi-finals. “It’s awful. He doesn’t put on a giant screen until we’re in the quarter-finals, I don’t see what changesindignant Myo, activist of Extinction Rebellion Dijon. For me, the dead, they are dead and the atrocities, they are there. Whether we are in the quarter-finals or not. For me, it’s not football, it’s football business. The real foot is not that. It is a foot that is social, a foot that unites, a foot that fights against inequalities. Today, if I can send a message to Mr. Rebsamen, it is: boycott!“
Myo denounces the environmental and social impact of this competition. “We can no longer build air-conditioned open-air stadiums in Qatar, it is not possibleshe explains. Organizer a foot cut in a desert, it’s just massive nonsense. There is also a social side. They are workers who died there. We took away their passports, their permits. Today, we are talking about exploited workers, forced labour. It’s modern slavery in fact, and we can’t condone that today.“
A “counter-world cup”
The Extinction Rebellion Dijon collective is organizing a new action this Sunday afternoon. A “Foot 2 rue” from 4 p.m. on Place François-Rude, again. A “counter-World Cup” open to all. The goal is to play ball at the same time as the first game of the real World Cup in Qatar.