France fountains protest against Total’s oil project

Fountains were tinted black in several French towns Saturday during protests against plans by oil giant Total to drill near a coral reef at the mouth of the Amazon.

“The Amazon reef is not an oil well” and “Defend the Amazon reef,” read banners held aloft by supporters of Greenpeace and environmental group ANVCop21 as they converged on some 30 towns including Paris, Rennes in the west, Bordeaux in the south, and Nancy in the east.

At the stylish early nineteenth century Lions de Nubie fountain in Paris’ La Villette district, some protesters daubed themselves with molasses, waded into the water and smeared the sticky black goo on the structure. “Total insists on going after oil when there are ecosystems and jewels of (ecological) diversity to preserve.

It’s no longer the age of oil but of transition” to cleaner forms of energy, Greenpeace campaigner Edina Ifticene said. The protests came as Total was preparing to unveil the findings of a new study into the planned project’s impact to Brazilian authorities.