They’re blocking freeways, spraying works of art with soup and slashing 4×4 tires. These new-style environmental activists are prepared to do anything to make their voices heard in the face of what they call ‘climate inaction.’
Extinction Rebellion, Dernière Rénovation, Soulèvements de la Terre: in recent years, the number of environmental groups advocating civil disobedience has multiplied. To attract the attention of governments, the media and the general public, they stage spectacular actions. Their mass mobilizations attract thousands of people and sometimes things turn ugly…
So who are these activists? And how far are they prepared to go? For several months, we’ve been at their side and behind the scenes of their organizations. Exceptionally, the Dernière Rénovation collective gave us permission to follow preparations for their next secret operation. We were able to witness the preparations for their next secret action: the activists have drawn up a very precise plan: some will create a diversion by throwing paint, while others will attach themselves to the railings to prevent themselves being removed by the police.
Among these activists was Julie. At 27, she was anxious about her future and that of her little sisters. So she made a radical lifestyle choice: she resigned from her prestigious Parisian consulting firm to devote herself to her militant action. The engineer swapped her office life for road blockades and repeated police custody. Marion, 42, is a farmer in the Tarn region of France, and is opposed to the construction of the A69 freeway between Castres and Toulouse. She is prepared to put her life at risk in order to stop the work: she has decided to go on hunger strike. In thirty days, this mother of two young children has already lost seven kilos, but continues to work.
But the radical methods of these new environmentalist collectives are dividing public opinion. In Sainte Soline, a farmer saw his fields trampled and his pipes set on fire. The government has even decided to take action against these movements, which advocate civil disobedience. For several months, we followed the daily lives of these men and women who are prepared to do anything to raise the alarm about global warming.