Macron waxwork stolen from Paris museum by Greenpeace activists
A wax figure of Emmanuel Macron was stolen from a Paris waxwork museum by several people claiming to be Greenpeace environmental activists.
According to police sources, two women and a man entered the Musée Grévin, in central Paris and left through an emergency exit with the statue, worth €40,000 (£33,700), hidden under a blanket.
The activists took the waxwork to the Russian embassy and stood it on the street in protest against France's economic ties with Russia.
Jean-Francois Julliard, the director general of Greenpeace France, said: 'For us, France is playing a double game. Emmanuel Macron embodies this double discourse – he supports Ukraine but encourages French companies to continue trading with Russia.
'We are targeting Emmanuel Macron specifically because he has a particular responsibility in this situation,' he added, saying that the president should be the first in European discussions to end trade agreements between Russia and European countries.
France, along with Britain, has been at the forefront of attempts to forge a European 'coalition of the willing' to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and enable peace negotiations with Russia.
But in March, Greenpeace France released a scathing report that accused Paris of indirectly supporting Russia's war in Ukraine through continued trade in fossil fuels, fertilisers and nuclear materials.
While Mr Macron has pledged billions of euros in aid to Ukraine and reaffirmed sanctions against Russia, Greenpeace claims that France remains a major importer of Russian liquefied natural gas, fertilisers and uranium.
In 2024, France became the largest European importer of Russian liquefied natural gas, with imports increasing by 80 per cent compared with 2023, according to the report.
Russian companies benefitted from the deal to the tune of €3.1 billion despite declining domestic gas consumption, Greenpeace claimed.
The report also underscored the EU's broader dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which have generated €206 billion in revenue for Moscow since the war began, exceeding financial aid provided to Ukraine.
France's reliance on Russian chemical fertilisers further complicates its stance, Greenpeace says. Between 2021 and 2023, imports of Russian fertilisers surged by 86 per cent as domestic production faltered because of gas shortages.
The NGO warns that these imports indirectly finance Russia's war effort through export taxes imposed by the Kremlin.
In the nuclear sector, French collaboration with Russia's state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom remains intact despite the war.
Greenpeace highlighted Rosatom's dual role as a civilian and military entity, accusing it of complicity in war crimes at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Despite its strategic importance to Russia's regime, neither France nor the EU has sanctioned Rosatom.
Greenpeace accused France of hiding behind Hungary's veto on sanctioning Rosatom while continuing lucrative contracts with the company.
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