Twelve environmental activists stole presidential portraits in three town halls in 2019 to denounce Emmanuel Macron’s climate “inaction”.
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The Court of Cassation validated, Wednesday, May 18, the convictions of environmental activists “dropouts” of official portraits of Emmanuel Macron in town halls to denounce “inaction” of the President of the Republic in terms of the climate.
In 2019, twelve activists stole presidential portraits from three Parisian town halls, in Valence and Strasbourg, as part of a national campaign “Let’s pick up Macron”, led by the Nonviolent Action COP21 movement. They had been sentenced on appeal to fines ranging from 200 to 500 euros, some suspended, in particular for “meeting flight”.
They then challenged these sentences before the highest court in France, arguing that they violated their freedom of expression, a right guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
But the magistrates of the Court of Cassation considered that “the sentence was not disproportionate with regard to the symbolic value of the portrait of the President of the Republic and the refusal to return it until their claims were not satisfied, as well as the fact that the theft was committed in a meeting”.
A judicial decision that the main interested parties regret. “It’s a disappointment, the court demonstrates its total incomprehension of our actions, but we remain determined”reacted in particular Cécile Marchand, “dropout” in Paris. “Collective action is essential, the political message is totally associated with the symbol and the non-return of the portraits is part of the message”she added.