“The last time I demonstrated in London was in 2003 against the war in Iraq,” recalls Jenny O’Hara amid the crowd that took part in today’s mobilization in the British capital to save the planet.

A protester on stilts disguised himself as a tree. Small children were dressed as animals, a woman walked on huge multi-colored butterfly wings.

The demonstration in central London was organized by Extinction Rebellion (XR), founded in 2018. Among other things, its activists climbed onto the wings of airplanes and took the tracks on the subway. But in January, XR announced that it was pausing its showy and sometimes controversial actions to stage a larger, more traditional demonstration to denounce the government’s inaction on climate change.

Families with babies in strollers, pensioners, teenagers gathered for an Earth Day demonstration in Westminster, where Parliament is located. Dozens of other organizations responded to XR’s call.

Jenny O’Hara traveled from Wales with her two children to protest. “You can’t stay apathetic anymore,” the 47-year-old said.

Lisa Longstaff, who works at the women’s center, held up a banner with the slogan: “We are for the climate, but the police are arresting us.” On Friday, a Just Stop Oil activist was sentenced to three years in prison for blocking a motorway last October near London. “This is outrageous,” said the 60-year-old woman. “But that won’t stop us from protesting. We are here to protect the world,” he added.

At the end of the demonstration, all participants lay down on the ground and observed silence: it was a tribute to wild animals that have disappeared from the planet since 1970, when the first Earth Day was celebrated.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.