At noon, bullhorns sounded, and then two minutes of silence was observed. Though this nodded at the victims of the recent Paris terrorist attacks, the primary purpose was to honor those who have died from climate change-related extreme weather events and those who will die from them in the future. It was suddenly, almost shockingly, silent, except for the police helicopter circling overhead. In its own way, it created as moving a moment as any speech on climate change ever has. Then the party picked up again, with chants of “What do we want? Climate Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
About half an hour later, activists laid down long strips of red cloth they had been carrying during the protest. People then lined them with the red flowers and lit the occasional red candle, illustrating the activists’ commitment to holding their red lines in the years ahead.
The “red lines” protest was followed at 2:00 p.m. by a rally sponsored by Friends of the Earth International in a park next to the Eiffel Tower, just over a mile away. Many participants marched together from the first event to the second. Then, with that other iconic Parisian landmark in the background, they formed a giant human chain with banners and posters calling for everything from 100 percent renewable energy to “a climate of peace.” They chanted, mostly in French, though often repeating the English-language call for “climate justice now” that had been heard across town earlier in the afternoon.
Despite the limitations put on them, the climate activists got their message across on Saturday: They will not be satisfied with the terms of the Paris agreement, and they will keep fighting for stronger actions to combat climate change and bring about climate justice.
