Nur Asena Erturk
08 February 2023•Update: 08 February 2023
ANKARA
French activists on Wednesday targeted the headquarters of energy company TotalEnergies after it announced a $20.5 billion net profit in 2022.
The company in a report on Wednesday said it has recorded a net profit of $20.5 billion, which would have been $36.2 billion if charges linked to leaving the Russian market were included.
Following the revelation, activists spray-painted the facade of the TotalEnergies building in Paris.
Activists of Alternatiba and Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth) movements were seen holding banners, saying: "Superprofits: You box up, we suffer."
Sharing the photos of the activists, Alternatiba said on Twitter that TotalEnergies broke the record of its history with a $20.5 billion profit.
"Total records disproportionate superprofits while the energy crisis drowned France in instability and 12 million French live in energy precariousness," the movement said.
It also accused the company of developing new projects such as EACOP (East African Crude Oil Pipeline) and focusing on fossil energy instead of renewables.
"Renewables currently represent only 0.2% of Total's production," Alternatiba continued. "Total wants to keep its dominant position in fossil energy."
Alternatiba also criticized the government for "inaction."
"We ask the state to tax TotalEnergies with these superprofits," it claimed.
Last month, climate activists of the Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, and Attac movements targeted the French branch bank, BNP Paribas in Paris, which they blamed for financing TotalEnergies' projects in Africa.
