Tens of thousands of citizens converging on Parliament Square, in front of the British Parliament, in London… This is not the finale of the cult film V for Vendetta, but a great action organized by environmental movements for four days from this Friday April 21. The organizers hope to bring together at least 100,000 people. In this more peaceful version, it is not a question of overthrowing power but of putting pressure on politicians to obtain concrete commitments in the fight against global warming.
The origin of this movement called “The Big One” is Extinction Rebellion (XR). The radical environmental organization, present in several countries, had until then carried out actions of non-violent civil disobedience to raise awareness about the climate crisis. On January 1, the British branch surprised everyone by announcing that it was stopping this mode of action to organize this major demonstration in front of the Palace of Westminster. Nearly 200 other organizations have joined, including Greenpeace and Don’t Pay UK, the movement which calls on the English not to pay their energy bills with inflation.
Will the gamble work? On the eve of the rally, 30,000 people had registered their participation on the Extinction Rebellion website. The organizers promise “non-violent action” and “family”. “XR has a reputation, we know that. But this time, the goal is to attract the attention of the government, not to disturb the population.
To avoid excesses, the police were associated with the preparation of the demonstration. There remains the London Marathon, with an immutable route, which must cross Parliament Square on Sunday. The organizers would have been assured that the gathering would not disrupt the race. This would not prevent more radical environmental movements like Just Stop Oil, accustomed to the interruptions of sporting events, from playing spoilsports.
Radicality, Extinction Rebellion could quickly find it. The movement posed, during a press conference a few days before the “Big One”, an ultimatum to the British government. He gives him until Monday 5 p.m., end of the rally, to open negotiations and accede to his two demands: to no longer authorize new exploitations of fossil fuels and to create “emergency citizen assemblies” to act for the climate. .
If the ministers remain deaf to their demands, XR promises to return to its roots and intensify its actions the next day. “Within three months, Extinction Rebellion will have developed a plan to carry out the most important actions of civil disobedience in the history of the country”, warned Rob Callender, a member of the movement (which has no spokesperson, nor leader). What form would these radical actions actually take? This is what the demonstrators will have to think about during the four days of the rally.