Europe
Police Arrest More Than 50 Activists During Extinction Rebellion Protest in London – Photos
The protests are scheduled ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference and Biodiversity Conference this fall and will continue until a demand to “stop all new fossil fuel investment immediately” is met.
London’s Metropolitan Police arrested dozens of Extinction Rebellion activists after they took to the streets of the city for a major demonstration, chaining themselves to objects in a bid to shut down a busy intersection. The protesters staged the event to highlight the role of big business in the climate crisis.
More than 50 arrests have been made for a variety of offences while policing today's protest in London.
We will have officers on hand throughout the night.https://t.co/cdQdfuAAf2
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) August 23, 2021
Here in Covent Garden where police have cordoned off part of Long Acre due to Extinction Rebellion protests which are taking place across London for the next two weeks.@myldn pic.twitter.com/Kk6JOIeFwg
— Hannah (@hannahneary16) August 23, 2021
The activists gathered near London’s Trafalgar Square, with some of them chaining themselves to a four-metre-high structure carrying the words “come to the table”. Other protesters were seen crawling under cars in an effort to block the road.
With a demand to immediately stop fossil fuel investment, the Impossible Rebellion has started in London! pic.twitter.com/hndmzKEGU5
— Extinction Rebellion (@ExtinctionR) August 23, 2021
#ExtinctionRebellion block London streets pic.twitter.com/7B26vIU2zp
— Inc.Monocle (@IncMonocle) August 23, 2021
#UK Elsewhere,London “extinction rebellion “ 23/08/2021 pic.twitter.com/kjNqo0Jbs9
— Nicole Elisei (@EliseiNicole) August 23, 2021
Several children were also seen at the protest, including an 11-year-old girl who delivered a speech echoing the environmental group’s message.
Rebels starting early at the London demo. #extinctionrebellion
We owe it to our children to give them a planet that they can live on, not strip it to the bone and present them with the Ash. pic.twitter.com/nWq0vonpy4
— Andreas Christodoulou (@adchristodoulou) August 23, 2021
Extinction Rebellion has faced criticism over its theatrical protests, which on many occasions have disrupted public transportation and traffic. The organisation was founded in 2018 in the United Kingdom, and describes itself as a politically non-partisan international movement that uses non-violent direct action to persuade governments to declare a climate and ecological emergency.