Religious figures, climate activists stage Paris protest against Total projects in Africa

Around forty environmental activists and religious figures chained themselves together on a footbridge over the Seine in Paris Thursday, protesting TotalEnergies' megaprojects in Uganda and Tanzania.

Opponents say the French energy giant's $10 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will harm biodiversity and take land from more than 100,000 people without adequate compensation

"We are doing damage to biodiversity here with all the motorways that continue to be built in France. But we are doing even more damage because we're talking about an extreme scale with this EACOP project and other investments elsewhere in the world," said Caroline Ingrand-Hoffet, a pastor.

The activists chained themselves to the Leopold Sédar-Senghor footbridge, blocking the way for almost 25 minutes, 1,443 seconds to be precise, in reference to the 1,443 km of the future East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a project of the French multinational that they are contesting.

The action took place on the eve of a TotalEnergies annual general meeting of shareholders.