A new symbolic action. A dozen activists from the Extinction Rébellion (XR) movement took action Friday night at the Paris Motor Show, some briefly embracing sports cars, to denounce the “individual car model” still promoted by the industry, announced in a press release.
“A dozen rebels from the non-violent civil disobedience movement Extinction Rebellion occupied the exceptional cars stand at the 2022 Paris Motor Show for several minutes,” the document details.
“They denounce a polluting industry that seeks to clean up its image with the help of ‘green’ vehicles but that continues to bet on the individual car as the transport of the future,” explains the movement.
“We ask that the advertising of individual vehicles be prohibited” and “we ask for an improvement in public transport to reduce the precariousness of mobility”, continues the press release.
“The absurdity of promoting individual vehicles”
A photo released by the movement shows activists holding a “World of Self-Destruct” banner above three red sports cars covered in black paint. Four of them are sitting at the foot of cars, their hands glued to the hoods, according to XR data. Eleven people were arrested, according to the movement.
XR activists “denounce the absurdity of promoting individual vehicles as the transport of the future when electricity and fuel have never been so unaffordable”, estimating the monthly cost of this means of transport at “€350 per month” in 2022.
“Essential motors and batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles, sold as ‘green’, are produced from materials whose exploitation is extremely costly in terms of human lives, energy and pollution,” adds the press release, highlighting the Role of the automotive industry in climate change caused by human activity.
In France, the transport sector generates approximately 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Civil disobedience movements, such as Last Renovation, Scientific Rebellion or Just Stop Oil, have multiplied their actions in recent months in Western countries to denounce the inaction of governments and the economic world, disrupting sporting events, blocking traffic or getting into the hands in works of art.
Source: BFM TV
