“Climate activists are in their role to alert”, reacts Elisabeth Borne

“We all need to speed up the ecological transition.” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Friday, May 26, on the sidelines of a trip to Côte-d’Or, that “Climate activists are in their role to alert” by demonstrating near the general meeting of shareholders of the TotalEnergies group. At the same time, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the oil giant had “started its transition to renewable energies”. Earlier in the morning, the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, had already called on the group to “go faster, stronger” putting “the packet” on renewable energies.

A tense climate

At dawn, several dozen demonstrators tried to enter the section of street in front of the Salle Pleyel, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, where the AG of the TotalEnergies group is held. The police forced them out. The demonstrators nevertheless remained nearby, about a hundred on each side of the street segment blocked by police and gendarmerie trucks. Four people have been arrested at this stage, according to the police.

“The climate is at the heart of our concern”said the CEO Patrick Pouyanne before the shareholders, referring to the “credibility of the transition plan” of TotalEnergies. This meeting comes at the end of a stormy AGM season, during which actions have multiplied against the major oil groups against a backdrop of staggering profits: together, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies show more than 40 billion in profits this quarter, after a great 2022.