French Activists
The largest climate protests in history were planned for COP21 but the terror-attack in Paris resulted in a state of emergency that prevented large-scale protests. This brought out an ongoing tension between movements and non-profit organizations, between front-line groups and big greens. The big greens cancelled the mass multi-hundred thousand person march that had been scheduled. Thousands of people went ahead with the march and predictably French security forces used pepper spray, tear gas, batons and arrests to stop them.
In ROAR Magazine they make the points that “Both experience and research in civil resistance tell us that our best bet against fear, intimidation and repression is to increase(not decrease!) participation” and that “It is well established that social movements win by polarizing the public and exercising non-cooperation to weaken and undermine power structures.”
Would mass protests have changed the political environment for COP21, resulted in larger amounts of money being agreed to for nations hardest hit, a binding agreement, enforceable goals? Because the COP21 was only a limited success civil society will continue to have to pressure the power structure, so these questions need to be debated, discussed and resolved within the climate movement.
On the same day that police tear gas and arrested 200 protesters, there was the empty shoe protest using shoes to show the thousands of people who would have marched – estimates were as high as 500,000 planning to march – and there was a human chain across Paris, with people holding hands to show solidarity for climate justice.
Building on the experience of climate protesters in other European cities, the Climate Games were getting organized for a series of protests months before the COP21 meeting. Not only were they working on the big mass march, but also on smaller autonomous protests that would occur throughout the meetings. When the mass march fell apart the other protests continued. Climate Games organizers say that their purpose was not to shut down COP21 but build momentum for a spring offense for climate protests, knowing the results of COP21 would require escalation.
There were a series of a wide variety of protests that did go forward. Indigenous peoples used kayactivism to urge keeping fossil fuels in the ground, Paris was plastered with wanted posters for ‘Climate Criminals’, US fracking opponents disrupted Paris talks, a massive sun was painted around the Arc de Triomphe demanding renewable energy, the Indigenous Environmental Network denounced false corporate ‘solutions’, a bank was taken over by song and dance protesting coal investment and ‘brandalists’ took over advertising posters throughout Paris highlighting the corporate takeover of the COP21. The Louvre was the site of protests, inside an oil spill denounced polluting carbon energy corporations sponsorship of the museum and outside the museum, performers dressed in black held up umbrellas with letters spelling out the phrase “Fossil Free Culture.”
By the end, with a call for mass action, activists said they would move forward on a mass protest despite Hollande’s ban and defy the ban. They decried the deal saying it had failed humanity and the planet and promised to draw red lines throughout the city. They drew lines in banners, cloth, red roses and umbrellas calling for keeping fossil fuels in the ground and declaring no peace without climate justice. Police were out in force but they just watched.
Paris is not the end but just another stage in the growing climate justice movement which has seen important victories in the United States this year like stopping the KXL pipeline, stopping Arctic drilling and decentralized protests that delay and make carbon infrastructure more expensive. During the COP21, the threaten of protests resulted in the Obama administration delaying a fuel auction of federal lands. And, Australian protesters shut down the three largest coal ports.
Activists are already planning an active spring, with coordinated protests being planned for May to shut down the most carbon polluting projects on the planet. And protests against carbon-fuel infrastructure are continuing. Next Wednesday we are helping to organize protests against Bank of America for its funding of carbon pollution projects, our focus is on demanding BoA stop funding the fracked gas export terminal at Cove Point and other fracking-related projects.