Macron's wax figure from the Paris Museum for Anti-Russ Protest

Macron's wax figure from the Paris Museum for Anti-Russ Protest

activists from Greenpeace set up a statue of French President Emmanuel Macron in front of the Russian embassy in Paris on Monday. With this campaign, they protested the ongoing business relationships between France and Russia as well as against Macron's climate policy.

protest campaign with symbolism

The activists stated that they had "loaned" the statue of Macron from the Grévin Museum in the center of Paris. The museum houses wax figures of more than 200 public personalities. The statue was set up on Monday at 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m.) in front of the message. "He does not deserve to be issued in this world -famous cultural institute until he ended the French contracts with Russia and initiated an ambitious and sustainable ecological transition throughout Europe," said a message from Greenpeace.

criticism of economic relationships

In front of the Russian message, the statue was flanked by banners, which criticized the continued trade with Moscow in areas such as gas, atomic energy and chemical fertilizers. An activist kept up a sign at the stand: "Business is shops", while another banner was: "Ukraine burns, the business continues."

France's dependence on Russian energies

Although the European countries have promised to end their dependence on Russian fuels, they have difficulty stopping imports of products such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to an investigation by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), France was the largest importer of Russian fossil fuels among EU countries in January, with LNG imports worth 377 million euros ($ 430 million).

criticism of atomic energy

Greenpeace also criticized the continuation of import contracts for nuclear fuels with the Russian atomic agency Rosatom. Roger Spautz, energy transition campaign manager at Greenpeace France, said: "Emmanuel Macron has to give up his renaissance of nuclear energy. To hold on to this course means to maintain dangerous dependence on enemy regimes like Russia and to finance the industry of a criminal regime."

ambivalent attitude endangers credibility

In the message, Macron's "Doppel speech" was also criticized, who is not sufficient to end the trade with Russia, even though he has publicly supported support for Ukraine. "This ambivalent attitude weakens France's credibility on the international stage and fills the war treasury of the Kremlin," it said.

consequences of protesting

CNN contacted Greenpeace to get more information about the whereabouts of the statue and whether it is returned to the museum. The Grévin Museum and Macron's office were also asked for a statement.

The reporter Pierre Bairin von CNN contributed to reporting.