France had restored border controls and planned police deployments to safeguard the climate event, even before the bloodshed of November 13, and then locked down Paris, allowing police to limit crowds in public spaces – a state of emergency that President Francois Hollande said will be kept for three months.
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On the big summit planned for November 29 in Paris, the organizers from 130 non-governmental organizations were hoping to draw in big crowds, speculating a carnival-like event that would put huge pressure on the world leaders to take conclusive action to curtail the issue of global warming.
On Friday, terrorist attack took place in Paris which caused the death of 129 people.
The Coalition Climat 21 alliance said a Citizens Climate Summit should be able to proceed on december 5 and 6, as well as a “Climate Action Zone” in a northern Paris cultural centre, due to open for the second week of the talks as a venue for public workshops, meetings and other events.
“The government can prohibit these demonstrations, but our voices will not be silenced”, Nicolas Haeringer, French campaigner for 350.org, said in a statement.
“This conference will try to reach a global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions”. Cancelling or postponing the events in Paris would be regarded as an abdication to terrorists.
Social movements on the other hand played a major role in pressuring Obama to think twice about the Keystone XL pipeline; stalling Shell’s actions in the Arctic, which eventually led to the dismemberment of the drilling project; and stopping the Northern Gateway pipeline from pummeling through Western Canada.
The demonstration was planned for Paris on November 29, the eve of the United Nations conference in the city at which hundreds of nations will try to negotiate an agreement to prevent climate change from getting out of control.
The climate conference will still go on, and media outlets have been keen to repeat statements by French officials that the continuation of the conference represents a statement against terrorism. If there is one war that needs to be done, you know, and we have to go for it, it’s the war against climate change. “Organizers are also encouraging activists to still plan on coming to Paris for the final days of the conference to make sure people, not the polluters or politicians, have the final word”.
“While taking into account the exceptional circumstances, we believe that COP21 can not take place without the participation or without the mobilization of civil society in France”, Héraud said. All expressed their solidarity with the French people and their determination that the talks should not be derailed.
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The climate talks will be staffed by United Nations security guards, who will be flown into Paris especially for the conference.
