Activists from the associations Alternatiba Paris and Amis de la Terre splattered paint on the facade of the TotalEnergies building in Paris, expressing dissatisfaction with the company’s “excess profits” amid the energy crisis. A report from the action on Wednesday, February 8, was published on the association’s Twitter.
Earlier in the day, TotalEnergies reported record earnings for 2022. It amounted to $20.5 billion, which is 28% more than the previous figures. At the same time, this figure does not take into account lost profits due to the curtailment of activities in Russia, which cost TotalEnergies about $15 billion.
According to CEO Patrick Pouyanne, revenue growth is driven by the company’s favorable energy market environment and its unique position in Europe, as well as growth in hydrocarbon production (up 5%) and LNG sales (up 22%).
“TotalEnergies continues to earn disproportionate profits, despite the fact that the energy crisis has plunged France into uncertainty and more than 12 million French people are forced to live in conditions of energy shortage,” the activists said in a message.
In addition, they accuse the company of not actively developing renewable energy sources, as well as that TotalEnergies “uses crises, both economic and climate, only exacerbating them.” In this regard, they are calling on the French government to take control of TotalEnergies and tax their excess profits.
Earlier, in January, activists staged a protest near the building of the French bank BNP Paribas in Paris, painting the walls and windows of the financial institution with gray and pink paint. Thus, they opposed the construction of an East African oil pipeline in Uganda.
