Tens of thousands march in France to call attention to climate crisis

PARIS • Tens of thousands of people took part in protests across France on Saturday to call for more attention to the climate crisis in the run-up to presidential polls next month.

"Look up", read one message in giant orange letters demonstrators held up in Paris, urging politicians to make protecting the planet a priority.

The sign was a nod to the Netflix hit Don't Look Up, in which astronomers who discover a comet will wipe out the Earth try in vain to get politicians to take the threat seriously.

"When are we going to talk about it?" read another sign.

The climate crisis took up only 1.5 per cent of talking points in media coverage of the election campaign from Feb 28 to March 6, a recent survey by climate non-governmental organisations has found.

Organisers said 80,000 protesters took part across the country, including 32,000 people in Paris. The Interior Ministry, however, said that just around 40,000 demonstrated, of whom 11,000 were in the capital.

In the northern city of Lille, Ms Lydie Lampin Bernand described the climate crisis as "worse than critical".

"I'm only 34 years old, and even I have seen the planet slapped in the face with a shovel," she said. "We have to protect the land we leave to our children," she added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 14, 2022, with the headline Tens of thousands march in France to call attention to climate crisis. Subscribe