Greenpeace activists on Monday absconded with a wax figure of President Emmanuel Macron from a Paris museum and positioned it outside the Russian embassy. This action was part of a protest against France’s economic ties with Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.
According to a police source, two women and a man gained entry to the Grevin Museum by posing as tourists. Once inside, they changed into worker attire to blend in.
The activists, having concealed the wax figure estimated to be worth 40,000 euros, then exited through an emergency door.
The museum reported that the activists had called to assure them the statue would be returned “unharmed.”
“They had clearly done their research very thoroughly,” a museum spokeswoman informed AFP.
The spokeswoman detailed that the activists diverted a security guard by inquiring about a disabled access lift, while some of them donned maintenance coats.
After taking possession of the Macron wax figure, the Greenpeace activists placed it in front of the Russian embassy to protest against the economic connections between France and Russia in the gas, chemical fertilizer, and nuclear sectors.
The demonstration in front of the embassy lasted only a few minutes.
The activists unfurled a Russian flag behind the Macron statue, and one man held up a yellow placard that read “Business is business.”
Fake banknotes were also scattered by the activists.
“For us, France is playing a double game,” stated Jean-Francois Julliard, head of Greenpeace France.
“Emmanuel Macron embodies this double discourse: he supports Ukraine but encourages French companies to continue trading with Russia,” Julliard elaborated.
Julliard explained that Greenpeace targeted Macron due to his particular responsibility, adding that the French president “should be the first” among European leaders to terminate trade contracts with Russia.
France has been among Kyiv’s most vocal supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Macron has taken a leading role in attempting to forge a coordinated European response to defend Ukraine, particularly after US President Donald Trump’s direct negotiations with Russia had caused global surprise.
The wax figure of Jacques Chirac was previously stolen from the Grevin Museum in 1983, when he was the mayor of Paris. The statue was recovered a few days later at the Vincennes Zoo.
The statue of Valery Giscard d’Estaing was stolen by disgruntled motorcyclists during his presidential term at the Élysée Palace between 1974 and 1981.
