‘Fake’ French President humiliated in the heart of Paris

The wax statue of French President Emmanuel Macron was stolen from the Grévin Museum on Monday… and returned the following day in front of the headquarters of energy group EDF, right in the centre of Paris.

The NGO Greenpeace was behind the bold act. The reason? To denounce the economic ties, based in part on energy, between France and Russia. “We brought Emmanuel Macron’s statue back because, as we promised from the start, it was just a loan,” explained the director general of Greenpeace France Jean-François Julliard to the AFP. He added: “We notified both the Grévin Museum management and law enforcement. It’s up to them to come and retrieve it.”

When the statue was placed outside the EDF headquarters, the NGO attached a sign reading “Putin-Macron Radioactive Allies”. Still according to Julliard, this specific location was chosen “to confront Macron with his responsibilities regarding trade with Russia, particularly in the nuclear sector.”

Breaking the ties between Paris and Moscow

The wax statue, valued at €40,000, was taken by Greenpeace activists who then displayed it outside the Russian Embassy in Paris. A placard stating “Business is Business” and fake banknotes thrown into the air: the operation only lasted a few minutes.

And behind the action, the message was clear: to denounce the persistent economic links between Paris and Moscow. According to Julliard, French companies can still “import all sorts of products from Russia — whether it’s enriched uranium to power French nuclear plants, natural uranium routed through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan via Russia, liquefied natural gas (…) or chemical fertilisers”.

(Mh with Olivia Stasse - Source: 20 Minutes - Illustration: ©Unsplash)