Environmental Activists Target Fondation Louis Vuitton on French Labor Day
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PARIS — The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris was targeted by environmental activists on Monday, according to an AFP report.
A video circulating on Twitter and attributed to independent journalist Clément Lanot shows a group of people using fire extinguishers and throwing paint bombs on the façade of the museum, which was closed for France’s May 1 Labor Day public holiday.
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According to the news agency, the action started around 9:30 a.m. and lasted some 10 minutes. By late afternoon, workers were erasing signs of the protest on the pavement and facade of the building.
The Paris branch of Extinction Rebellion later posted a series of videos and images on Instagram, confirming the action “on this symbolic day of wage and union claims” at the foundation, which it described as “a cultural and philanthropic and most of all fiscal tool” of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton group.
“That’s why we demand that corporations take their responsibilities and act in the fight against global warming, and that the government put in place the Citizen Convention for Climate, which proposed among other things the impact of greenhouse gas emissions of companies, reinforcing their obligations in the face of environmental demands and condition their financing to green criteria,” the organization said in the post, pointing out that current emission levels of companies listed on the CAC40 index would lead to a 3.5 degree Celsius increase in temperatures by 2100.
Members of the group also read out a statement lampooning LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and the French government in front of a banner emblazoned with “Merci patron” (or “thanks boss,” in French). Slogans of “tax the rich” could also be seen spraypainted on walls and the pavement of the museum.
The luxury group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protest comes as France is gripped by unrest following a pension reform that would see the retirement age gradually increase to 64 years old. On Friday, the Fitch rating agency downgraded France to “AA-“ over the social and political climate, citing the political deadlock and social unrest as risks to French President Emmanuel Macron’s reform program.
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