Photos and video of the September 30 action (Credits: 350.org).
Paris, France. As elected representatives returned to the French Parliament on Monday morning 350.org and partners staged a creative demonstration in front of the National Assembly, challenging parliamentarians to implement wealth taxes on the super rich and a tax on fossil fuels companies’ record profit- to finance the just transition out of fossil fuels and into safe renewable energy for all.
Activists set up a classroom near the National Assembly and presented their first lesson of the year to passing Parliamentarians, journalists and passers-by. This lesson was dedicated to financing the just transition and was staged to remind parliamentarians of their duties towards people and planet.
Climate justice activists have been provoked by threats to the ecological budget. Already cut by two billion euros last February, it could be further reduced as part of the 2025 Finance Bill expected in the coming days. This step backwards is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, billionaires are increasingly numerous in France – their wealth is hitting new heights with the 500 largest fortunes exceeding 1,200 billion euros in 2024, the rate at which they are taxed is almost half as high as for the rest of the population. It is time to change the rules of the game. Ordinary French people must not continue to pay the price for the government’s climate inaction and being forced to choose between heating or eating. Will parliamentarians learn their lesson?
Fanny Petitbon, campaigner and France team lead at 350.org said: “The solution is within reach. Politicians must have the courage to go and get the money where it is – in the pockets of the super rich. An additional tax of 2% on the wealth of French billionaires would bring in more than 13.7 billion euros per year and would allow investment, in cities and rural areas, in the energy renovation of individual housing and public buildings, and the development of cleaner, more efficient public transportation. Parliamentarians have the power and the responsibility to stop the austerity policy pursued by the government – which sacrifices the ecological transition and condemns citizens to a very bleak future.”
Soraya Fettih, France campaigns and mobilisation officer at 350.org said: “While polluting multinationals like TotalEnergies are raking in record profits of 10 billion euros in six months, our parliamentarians are standing idly by. It is time to take concrete action by taxing these superprofits and eliminating the tax loopholes that these fossil fuel giants benefit from. These measures would not only accelerate the ecological transition in France, but also contribute to global climate justice. COP28 has sounded by setting a course for phasing out fossil fuels, our elected officials must now take action.”
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About 350.org:
350.org is an international movement of people working together to end the era of fossil fuels and build a world where thriving communities are powered by safe renewable energy for all.
Media contacts:
- Fanny Petitbon, [email protected], +33 6 19 12 21 46
- Soraya Fettih, [email protected], +33 6 05 04 23 98