[Applause]
This is the time for us environmentalist
to declare a revolution.
[Music]
So, we just got to Paris. It's 4 days
ahead of the start of the biggest
climate conference in history, COP 21,
where more than 130 world leaders are
going to gather to try to come to an
agreement to cap global warming at 2
degrees. this enormous public discontent
and thousands of activists from all over
the world gathered in Paris to try to
protest. The problem is that since a
terror attacks in Paris on November
13th, there's a state of emergency
implemented, meaning it's forbidden to
protest.
We're on our way to a climate activist
squad in the outskirts of Paris where
they're about to prepare the first big
action. Um, this is going to be risky
for everyone involved. So, we won't be
able to disclose identities or the
location.
Oh, this place is massive.
Many floors, people sleeping everywhere.
So, what's going to happen today?
There's different teams of people who
have got poster artwork that's been
submitted by about 82 different artists.
That artwork is talking about climate
change. Just talking about the UN
climate summit and they're going to put
this artwork up in bus stops and other
outdoor advertising spaces to make that
link between advertising and climate
change.
How long have you been preparing all of
this? Just being prepared for like a
good few months. More intensely the last
two weeks.
They've constructed all of these
keys for the glass boxes at bus stations
and so on. And they're wearing these
vests saying
JC the co so that they look just like
normal workers. However, if they get
caught, they can face court cases,
arrests, and even being sued for a lot
of money by the advertising companies.
We're going to follow the team that will
go do the most risky action. They're
going to take over the highway, the road
that leads up to the conference center
where the COP 21 is held in BJ.
So, they managed to put up the first
poster on a bus stop and it said,
"Should we care about the climate
problem?" Of course not. We're an
airline company.
It's actually working so well. They're
so inconspicuous that a police car that
passed and just didn't even notice.
So those two posters that he just put up
uh were false advertising for solutions
21 which is the cup 21 big fair at the
grand pale in central Paris where many
fossil fuels companies are going to uh
show what they call their solutions for
the future uh to cap global warming and
so on.
So, we're at the very last stage of
their brandalism action, the riskiest
one. So, we have to wait in the car.
They can't be seen with a camera crew.
Um, we're right outside the COP 21
conference center, uh, Lup Exposition,
and I guess the guys are going to walk
past us. Oh, they're already coming
really soon. And they're going to try to
put up a poster right in front of it.
So, we're right outside of Cup 21. The
guys made it. They put up the two
posters. This one says it's at with the
French president and a rainforest and a
destroyed rainforest. And on the other
side they have green wash
new and improved for cleaning dirty
projects. Can't believe they made it.
There's so much police police
everywhere. Literally everywhere.
It means state of emergency. So what the
activists are referring to is that there
is a state of emergency because of the
terror threat. But for them the real
state of emergency is the state of the
planet.
[Applause]
[Music]
to
[Applause]
[Music]
capital.
So, we just got to a climate activist
workshop where people have for many
weeks been preparing banners for what
was supposed to be the biggest climate
march in France's history on November
29th. But now that protests have been
banned, we're going to speak to some of
the activists to see how they're dealing
with this new situation.
[Music]
Tomorrow was supposed to be one of the
biggest climate marches ever. And then
because of the terror attacks and state
of emergency, it's been bad. How do you
feel about that? What we're feeling is
that those mobilizations were actually
taking a really good shape and we're
expecting many people to participate and
basically the state of emergency is the
best excuse they have to forbid all this
to happen and make it very difficult for
us to modernize. One of my friends got
house arrested. So he's now banned to go
anywhere and do, you know, anything
during the cup. So he's just staying
home and he has to go to the police
station three times a day. The feeling
we have is definitely that the state of
emergency is more and more a way that
they use to make sure that our voice
won't be heard.
So what's happening here today?
Basically people are preparing for
tomorrow's mobilization. So we're
organizing a human chain uh that will go
along the route of the original march
that was forbidden by the police. We're
expecting a few thousand people to hold
hands on that route that was the
original route for the march. Basically,
if you do something in the sidewalk,
it's not something that you have to ask
authorization for. So, that's why we
decided to do it.
Just as we were leaving the banner
making workshop, we heard that there's a
police raid happening at one of the many
climate activist squads around Paris.
So, we're going to go check it out.
Like the entire neighborhood is
surrounded. Like look at all these guys
with machine guns.
They won't tell us what why they're
here. I've asked them, but obviously we
know. Jesus. Okay. One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10,
11, 12. It's like 20 police cars.
So, we're going to interview one of the
guys from the squad who was here during
the raid, and we're going to talk to him
on the roof.
The police came today and they raided
the squat. They came in through this
roof and it broke down the door. They
came in with guns and armor and riot
police. Uh, and we think they were just
trying to intimidate people. They asked
for people's identity and they search
for rooms with dogs, but you know, they
didn't find anything. They We don't know
why they came. Uh, but we think it's
just to intimidate people and to to say
we're watching you. Don't do anything.
Other journalists have told us that
there are about up to 300 police
officers here. Uh they're all heavily
armed.
Just kind of mad. So when I was on the
phone with the activists before coming
to Paris, they were saying that they
were being intimidated by the police
just for planning to try to speak up and
put pressure on world leaders at the
talks. And they were talking about
policemen with machine guns around. But
I didn't actually think that would be
the case that such heavy action would be
taken against activists. But it is a
state of emergency.
It's early in the morning, November
29th, the day before the COP 21 climate
talks begin. We're at Pla Republic where
up to 400,000 people were supposed to
gather for the biggest climate march in
French history. But because of the state
of emergency, people can't protest. So
instead, more than 10,000 people have
donated their shoes to be placed on the
square where they would have gathered.
The organizers just rolled out a massive
banner saying Paris marching for
climate.
What's happening today?
Why is climate important to you?
for
reality.
[Music]
So the human chain just started all
along.
There are many thousands of people here.
people who would have wanted to march,
but instead they're standing peacefully
along the sidewalk holding up all of
their banners.
Nomi Klein's here and I'm also seeing
Bianca Jagger. I'm going to ask her why
she's here today.
How do you feel about the climate in the
state of emergency where people are not
allowed to raise their voices? I I think
that this is a moment when um the
French, you know, France who has had one
of the most famous revolution. This is
the time for us environmentalist to
declare a revolution. The climate is the
state of emergency
right now. Hundreds of thousands of
people are marching all over the world
for climate.
[Music]
But here in Paris, at the very heart of
the climate talks that begin tomorrow,
people are not allowed to protest.
Instead, they form a human chain with
more than 3,000 people all along.
And although it's great that they were
able to mobilize despite the ban on
protests,
it's not even stopping traffic. There's
not that much media here. And this is
where people's voices really need to be
heard.
[Applause]
We just saw at least a dozen police cars
driving towards Plastik. So, we're going
to go there and see what's going on.
[Applause]
So, everyone started marching. They told
me that they're going to defy the
protest banner. They're going to try to
march exactly where they wanted to march
and they're heading straight for the
police. So, let's see what the reaction
is going to be because this is a state
of emergency. Protest
and you have like hundreds maybe even
more than a thousand people just heading
straight towards the police bay.
[Applause]
So now the black block is moving in.
That's the most radical faction in any
protest. The people like covering their
faces and just going in for the
violence.
The protesters threw projectiles and the
police answered with pepper spray and
it's getting really tense now.
So, I had to put a cap on cuz people are
throwing gas bottles. There are some
grenades going off. Pepper spray.
And now the whole protest is screaming,
shanting, state of emergency. Police say
you're not going to take away our right
to protest. And it's throwing stuff at
the police.
[Applause]
What was meant to be a peaceful protest
put pressure on world leaders to do more
about climate change has just ascended
into chaos.