The Bobigny Criminal Court announced on Thursday September 14 the conviction of environmental activists from Attac and Extinction Rebellion, who had blocked access to a terminal at Le Bourget airport to denounce the use of private jets in September 2022 They will have to pay fines ranging from 300 to 500 euros.
Eleven defendants were convicted of gathering after summons, the twelfth activist was not prosecuted for this charge for procedural reasons. The court found that the defendants “had ample time [to disperse] before the summons were made.” The activists, for their part, announced that they would appeal the court’s decision.
On September 23, 2022, around twenty activists blocked access to a terminal at Le Bourget airport for almost two hours, which they had covered with red paint. Four activists were perched on an awning above the access path to the terminal, with a counter supposed to illustrate the number of tonnes of CO2 saved by this blocking action, i.e. one tonne every ten minutes.
“Not a victory for ecology”
The twelve defendants were all acquitted of the two other charges, “degradation in a meeting” and “organization of a prohibited demonstration”. “This decision reflects the procedure, there remains a lot of misunderstanding about the terms of the decision,” reacted one of the defendants’ lawyers, Me Hélène Jouny. “The prosecution continues to criminalize actions with an ecological aim and the public authorities clearly refuse to address the real problems posed by global warming,” she declared.
“This is clearly not a victory for ecology,” regretted Lou Chesné, spokesperson for Attac. “This decision strengthens our resolve to continue our actions of civil disobedience,” she added. “The judge tells us that he does not accept the state of necessity and considers that there are other legal means to warn of the climate emergency. Except he doesn’t tell us which ones,” the spokesperson continued.
