According to local authorities in southeastern France, a group of protesters broke into a plant owned by chemicals group Arkema near Lyon to demonstrate against alleged pollution from the site. It was reported that around eight individuals were arrested during the protest.
A government official for the Auvergne-Rhone region stated that the activists, described as radical, targeted the Arkema company in Pierre Bénite on a Saturday afternoon. The police response was prompt, preventing any significant damage to the facility.
Video footage released by the climate movement Extinction Rebellion and BFM TV captured the activists, dressed in white, entering the site and vandalizing the walls by scrawling the word “murderers” in red paint. The protesters also damaged doors and materials to highlight the discharge of PFAS, which are harmful substances that do not biodegrade.
Arkema, in a statement denouncing the protest, announced that its teams were conducting inspections at the site to ensure safety and assess the extent of the damage caused by the activists. This incident marks a repetition of a similar demonstration targeted at the Pierre Benite site in December 2022, prompting Arkema to declare their intent to file a complaint.
The company disclosed that it had been making investments to discontinue the use of fluorinated additives at the site by the end of 2024. Additionally, efforts had been initiated to implement a filtration solution aimed at reducing emissions by more than 90%.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Mark Potter)
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