Extinction Rebellion Targets French ATMs in 'Dirty Bank' Protest

Numerous BNP Paribas ATMs in some 30 towns and cities across France were rendered unusable by Extinction Rebellion activists in a protest against what they said was the bank’s funding of the fossil-fuel industry. Extinction Rebellion’s protest against the “dirty bank”, as they called it, saw them daubing ATMs with what one reporter said was a mixture of clay, paint and glue. Video here, recorded in Paris, also shows activists satirizing the bank’s motto, “The bank of a changing world” by putting up flyers reading “The bank of a dying world.” One activist spoke to camera, saying that 30 to 40 ATMs were targeted in the capital alone. The group accused BNP Paribas of financing fuel companies, and refusing to reveal its carbon print. The speaker described the materials used to daub the machines as “completely compostable and washable.” BNP Paribas says its aim is to reduce funding for oil extraction and production by more than 80 percent by 2030. The protest came ahead of BNP Paribas’s annual results. They showed net revenues up 9 percent, and net income up 7.5 percent at over €10 billion. Credit: Anonymous via Storyful