As we reported yesterday, numerous disruptions have affected the SNCF lines, a few hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. This sabotage seems to have been carried out by far-left groups. In the coming days, in addition to the railways, French airports could also be affected.
In a confidential note published on Friday, which The Figaro has come to our attention, the secret services of the air gendarmerie fear “an imminent action by radical environmental groups”. According to The Parisianfourteen activists of the movement Extinction Rebellion were arrested in Paris during a civil disobedience action. Already on Friday, the police were aware of “a possible major initiative aimed at a French airport”. The British group Just Stop Oilknown for its vandalism and its fight against fossil fuel extraction, has announced its intention to “target international airports with highly visible actions”. But who is funding it? According to their website, most of their funds come from the Climate Emergency Fund , a US network that has supported climate activism since 2019. The initiative is partly funded by US philanthropist Aileen Getty, granddaughter of the oil magnate J. Paul Getty.
Just Stop Oil claims to “also receive donations from the public and other organizations interested in climate change.” On July 24, at the start of the Olympic events, at least eight large actions were recorded in terminals in seven European countries. The following day, an intrusion of activists at Frankfurt Airport, one of the busiest in the world, caused a temporary disruption of traffic. After the action, a group of activists from the German-Austrian movement Last Generation was arrested, but later released. Once free, they attempted to board a train from Saarbrücken, Germany, to Gare de l’Est in Paris. Their goal was to disrupt the Olympics. Thanks to the intervention of the German police, the individuals were stopped. However, they are still wanted for radical environmental activism in Germany. Raul Joseph Semmlerleader of the movement, was among them. Forty years old, he is considered dangerous and violent by the French and German police and has already participated in disruptive actions in museums and festivals.
But that’s not all. On July 27, a call was made for a demonstration in front of the main terminal of Geneva Airport, in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities were also warned of a possible attack at Basel-Mulhouse Airport, which was threatened with a bomb last Friday, as well as the airports of Toulouse, Lille and Beauvais. These activists, according to French intelligence, could try to reach France by other means to carry out actions against one of the border airports, such as Lille, Strasbourg or Basel-Mulhouse. In addition, according to the police, a webinar organized by the Staygrounded network, which promotes “alternatives to aviation”, on the theme “How to block an airport” is planned for August 5, 2024. More than 180 associations and collectives from around the world have been invited, including 15 from France.
