Climate activists have gathered in the French town of Bayonne to denounce the policies of French President Emmanuel Macron in a protest dubbed ‘March of the portraits.’

Hundreds of people, some wearing yellow vests, marched through the streets of Bayonne, France holding portraits of Emmanuel Macron. It was hardly a show of support for the embattled French leader, however. The portraits were stolen earlier in the year from government buildings all around France and were held upside-down by those participating in the demonstration.

“We have them upside-down as a symbol of a total lack of sense in his policies,” one of the activists explained.

Others complained that Macron is ‘all talk,’ and demanded that he take concrete action to tackle the climate crisis. Their grievances were summed up by the motto ‘Where is Macron?’ and banners reading ‘Macron, the champion of blah blah blah’.

#MarcheDesPortraits - Les portraits présidentiels sont révélés, mais d'où viennent-ils ? 🧐Depuis le 21.02, des militant·e·s d'ANV-COP21 ont décroché des portraits dans plus de 125 mairies, afin de laisser derrière eux un mur vide, à l'image de la politique climat de #Macron. pic.twitter.com/rLzopFIcq0 — ANV-COP21 (@AnvCop21) August 25, 2019

A June report by the French independent advisory council on climate showed that the government was falling well short of the emission-cutting goals it had set for itself. Macron’s critics also cite his support for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, which, according to them, lowered environmental standards.

The protest is just one of many that are coinciding with the G7 summit meeting held Biarritz, which neighbors Bayonne. Climate change is expected to be one of the central topics of the gathering, and Macron has already called for action on the raging Amazon wildfires – which has apparently not impressed the protesters in Bayonne.

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