Wednesday, the French government issued an order disbanding a prominent climate activist group whose demonstrations have frequently devolved into violence and which engaged in violent confrontations with police earlier this year.
According to reports, Uprisings of the Earth (SLT) condemned the shutdown as a violation of human rights and an infringement on the freedom of expression of the French public.
“It’s an infringement on free speech because it targets speech and not actions,” SLT attorney Raphael Kempf told Reuters, pledging to challenge the decision in the French court.
Patrick Baudouin, the president of the French Human Rights League, reiterated this sentiment and described it as “part of a wider trend.”
Related Posts
“Over the past few months, there have been attacks on a number of freedoms (freedom of protest, expression, and association),” he added.
Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist, joined the group’s supporters outside the Council of State in Paris on Wednesday, where she reportedly stated, “This is about the right to protest and defending life.”
Thunberg stated that she expects more individuals will defend the right to protest and demand environmental improvements.
However, French officials remained steadfast in their decision, with France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin equating the aggressive acts committed by the group’s supporters to “eco-terrorism” after some activists demonstrated “extreme violence against police forces.”
“Under the pretense of protecting the environment, [SLT] promotes sabotage and property destruction, including through violence,” he said on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, SLT made international news when significant protests erupted in western France over a controversial irrigation project in Sainte-Soline.
The Guardian reported that 5,000 protesters clashed with 3,000 police officers, leaving two demonstrators in a coma and 30 police officers injured.
As soon as protesters arrived at the reservoir where the demonstrations were held, police reportedly opened fire with rubber bullets, tear gas grenades, concussion grenades, and explosive sting-ball grenades, according to the French Human Rights League.
Numerous clashes between protesters and police in France this year prompted United Nations officials to advise the French government in May to evaluate its policing practices and take steps to avoid the use of excessive force.
