France: Police tear-gas climate protesters at TotalEnergies meeting

French riot police on Friday used tear gas and pepper spray as they clashed with climate protesters who were trying to block shareholders at oil giant TotalEnergies from going to their annual meeting.

The scuffles came as investors in the company are expected to vote on climate resolutions put forward by activist shareholders calling for faster cuts to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by TotalEnergies' oil and gas activities.

The company's board opposes the resolutions.

Last year, protesters succeeded in preventing some shareholders from attending the meeting.

What happened at the protests?

Dozens of protesters tried at dawn to access a part of the street near the Salle Pleyel, the concert hall venue of the meeting, which was blocked off by police trucks.

Police then tear-gassed some demonstrators who managed to stage a sitting protest in front of the concert hall after they ignored three megaphone warnings to disperse.

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The Paris police poured tear gas on climate activists at a protest near the building where the TotalEnergies shareholders' congress is taking place. Well done!)) pic.twitter.com/dqncDbOvIj

— Einarr (@Olek0907) May 26, 2023 >

Protesters chanted, "All we want is to knock down Total" and "One, two and three degrees, we have Total to thank." There was also a banner reading, "The science is clear but Total is ignoring it."

Some poured a black liquid resembling oil over their heads.

Shareholders were escorted through the group of demonstrators into the venue by police, but were required to leave bags at the entrance and give up their smartphones for the duration of the meeting.

What's TotalEnergies' response?

The CEO of TotalEnergies defended his company's climate stance at the meeting.

 "The climate is at the heart of our concerns," Patrick Pouyanne told attendees, saying his group had gone further than others in investing in renewables.

He also expressed regret at having had to "take exceptional measures both in calling in the police and in strictly controlling access to this assembly."

TotalEnergies has caused controversy not only by its stance on climate issues, but also for posting a record net profit of $20.5 billion (€19 billion) for last year amid fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and over how much taxes it pays in France.

Pouyanne's high salary has also come under critical scrutiny, with a 10% rise on part of it to be discussed at the meeting.

Growing climate protests

The protests come as climate campaigners step up their actions against fossil-fuel companies that are widely seen as ignoring the danger posed by global warming caused by human activity.

Protesters tried to storm the stage of Shell's shareholder meeting earlier this week and also disrupted BP's AGM last month.

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 43% from 2019 levels by 2030 if the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels is to be met.