By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 24/05/2023 at 7:40 PM, updated 24/05/2023 at 7:51 PM
This Wednesday, May 24, the German police carried out a large-scale operation against the radical environmental movement “Last Generation”, which had launched several controversial civil disobedience actions and called for “protest marches”.
The authorities searched “fifteen locations throughout the country” because of “suspicion of crimes by members of the last generation” as part of an investigation into “training or supporting a criminal organization”, as the Munich public prosecutor announced. Seven members of this group, aged 22 to 38, were affected by this procedure, he added.
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The best-known environmental collective
Specifically, they are accused of “advertising on the internet” and organizing “fundraisers” of up to “1.4 million euros” to carry out illegal activities. Two members of Last Generation are suspected of “attempting to sabotage the Trieste-Ingolstadt pipeline in April 2022,” an oil pipeline running through Bavaria that German authorities consider “essential infrastructure.” According to the indictment, the searches took place in “seven German regions”, in particular in Berlin, Bavaria and Hesse. “Accounts have been seized and assets have been seized,” he said after various complaints.
In response, the environmental movement “called on citizens to take part in protest marches.” Rallies in Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg were planned for late Wednesday afternoon. “They scare us, but we must not give in. “The government is leading us into a climate hell with our eyes closed and stepping on the gas,” reasoned Aimée van Baalen, spokeswoman for Last Generation, during a press conference.
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“Last Generation” is the most prominent environmental collective in Germany today. In recent months, he has attracted attention with his sometimes spectacular acts of civil disobedience, with which he wanted to urge the government to step up the fight against climate change. Its members have repeatedly put their hands on the asphalt of major highways to stop traffic, or projected various substances onto paintings in museums. The movement is already the subject of hundreds of lawsuits, notably for disturbing public order. A court recently sentenced three activists to five, four and three months in prison, the harshest sentences ever imposed for this type of crime.
“The last generation is not criminal”
Activists from groups such as Last Generation argue that their protests are essential given what authorities see as insufficient action to combat climate change. “Does it have to be (…) that the drinking water does not run out so that we understand that Last Generation is not criminal?” said Aimée van Baalen on Wednesday. “The rule of law cannot be attacked,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke press group.
More than 1,600 crimes committed by environmental activists were registered by the police in the country last year, most often at roadblocks, the minister added. The actions of environmentalists are angering the government, which claims to have done more than anyone else to combat global warming. The governing coalition, made up of environmentalists, social democrats and liberals, has ambitious climate targets such as producing 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly criticized the “last generation” during a school visit this week, saying he found it “completely silly to cling to a blackboard or a street”. “How dare he stand in front of the children whose future he is destroying and say that protesting his destructive policies is completely idiotic?” Marion Fabian, a spokeswoman for the movement, responded on Wednesday. A climate expert council responsible for assessing the government’s actions released a report in mid-April estimating that Germany is at risk of not meeting its CO2 reduction targets.