A demonstration by two organisations against cruise tourism in Marseille prevented four ships from entering the port of this French city for several hours until the authorities intervened and arrested 21 activists.
According to the Efe news agency, the operation was organized by the groups Extinción Rebelión and Stop Cruceros, which published several images on their social network X account of how their members with a dozen kayaks prevented the access of ships to the port, early in the morning.
The protest ended with the intervention of the Marseille authorities, who arrested the activists and transported the canoes to the dock, explained the local newspaper La Provence, cited by Efe.
The intention of these two Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), among other positions, was to denounce that the companies that operate these large cruise ships are trying to “highlight their supposed efforts and innovations” in environmental matters, which “at best is a hypothesis.” smokescreen.”
Environmental activists blocked the cruise port in the southern French city of Marseille on Saturday to protest against the pollution of the sea, air and climate caused by these huge ships.
They forget that the Rainbow Warrior also pollutes… pic.twitter.com/WRbecTaR6q– OK! News (@oknewsm) September 21, 2024
To justify this position, they give as an example the current use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, which is also a fossil fuel.
In addition to this issue, Stop Cruises criticises “the plundering of a precious maritime heritage that must be protected by the cruise industry”.
In the case of Marseille, the organisation highlights that 2.5 million tourists arrived in the city on cruise ships in 2023, one million more than in 2022, and that the growth trend will not stop.
Activists criticize the cruise industry for “consuming a lot of resources, polluting the air and water, amplifying mass tourism, generating a lot of greenhouse gases and practicing exile/tax optimization with undignified working conditions.”
Source: Observadora
