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Tour de France comes to a halt when climate doomsdayers block road with glue and smoke bombs

July 12, 2022 | | Print Article

(Video: NBC Sports)

The annual Tour de France was briefly interrupted Tuesday after a group of climate doomsdayers blocked the road and set off colored smoke bombs as they demanded action from the French government.

The more than 3,000 km race broken into 21 stages was near the end of its 10th day of competition when cyclists were halted due to the obstruction. Riders had departed Morzine earlier in the day and were roughly 35km (about 22 miles) outside Megève when the race came to a standstill for about 15 minutes according to Cycling News.

Nine members of the climate alarmist group Dernière Rénovation had reportedly set about gluing themselves to the pavement and deployed bright-colored smoke the interrupt the race. The leader at the time, Alberto Bettiol, had continued through the protest only to return to the pack after a discussion on how the race would resume.

On social media the group that believes the world is heading toward a global catastrophe expressed their protest was to “stop the mad race towards the annihilation of our society” and that they “can no longer remain spectators of the ongoing climate disaster. We have 989 days left to save our future, our humanity.”

“It is urgent, we must act and make our government react, starting with the energy renovation of buildings,” a statement on their website further declared.

“I would rather be with my grandfather, be quiet on my sofa watching the Tour de France, while the government does its job, but this is not the reality,” claimed 32-year-old Alice. “The reality is that the world to which the politicians are sending us is a world in which the Tour de France will no longer be able to exist. In this world, we will be busy fighting to feed ourselves and to save our families. Under these conditions, we will face mass wars and famines. We must act and enter into civil resistance today to save what remains to be saved.”

The protesters are steadfast in their doomsday prediction as 39 days prior to this stunt a solo representative of the group had run onto the clay courts of Roland Garros and tied herself to the net during the men’s semifinal match of the French Open adorned in a T-shirt that read, “We have 1,028 days left.”

The 22-year-old activist had also only managed to hold up the competition for about 15 minutes before being escorted away. Similarly, climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil have taken to gluing themselves to famous pieces of artwork and members recently affixed themselves to “The Hay Wain” by John Constable.

Other targets of the foundling protest group included Vincent van Gogh’s “Peach Trees in Blossom” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”

Recent protests specifically targeting the Tour de France included farmers interrupting the race in 2018 and the riders engaging in a “go-slow” in 2021 to challenge dangerous conditions after numerous crashes in the third stage.

Kevin Haggerty
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