Nationwide protests across France against government inaction on climate change drew more than 350,000 people across 220 towns and cities on Saturday, organizers said.



The main rally through the center of Paris brought out some 45,000 campaigners, police said, while organizers put the figure at 107,000.

The march coincided with the return of the 'yellow vest' movement, whose so-called ultimatum rally saw violence break out and one of France's richest neighborhoods torched.

Read more: France to introduce plastic packaging tax

The environmental rally, however, was a peaceful affair and saw French movie stars, families, activists and politicians turn out.

Gloomy warnings

Many protesters sang songs and held hands, while others carried signs reading "There is no Planet B" and "Dinosaurs also thought they had time."

Some 45,000 people marched from Paris' famed Opera Garnier to the Republic Plaza

"We are here to demonstrate against the inaction on climate change ... and against the multi-billionaires in their ivory towers," 18-year-old drama student Pierre-Loup Meriaux told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Dozens of other climate rallies took place across France on Saturday including Lyon, Marseille, and Nantes.

The protests followed the formal launch of legal action this week by Greenpeace, Oxfam and two French environmental groups against the French state over its response to global warming.

The groups launched a campaign called "The Affair of the Century" in December, and have since garnered more than 2 million signatures to an online climate petition.

Macron's commitment questioned

Student climate strikes go global 'If you don't act like adults, we will' Thousands of students walked out of class in Sydney, kicking off global protests on Friday. They got the attention they wanted. Some Australian politicians hit back with criticism. "For action on issues that they think is important, they should do that after school or on weekends," said Education Minister Dan Tehan.

Student climate strikes go global Students bring grown-ups into line Protesters in New Zealand invited adults to join the march. "If we go on strike on a school day, then they'll notice and they might want to do something," said 14-year-old student Inese, who didn't want to give her full name. And her prime minister is listening. Jacinda Ardern supports the strikes and has pledged NZ$100 million (€60 million/$68 million) to cut greenhouse gases.

Student climate strikes go global Truth to power The movement has snowballed since 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg began skipping school to protest in front of parliament last August. On March 15, her protest spread from Vanuatu to Hong Kong (pictured here), Tashkent to Madagascar. In Thailand, one of the world's top plastic polluters, students campaigned against single-use plastics.

Student climate strikes go global Seoul to Singapore From Seoul to Singapore, each city's students spoke out in their own way. Here in South Korea, 100 students held signs saying "Too warm 4 school" and "Don't deny climate change." In Singapore, strict laws regulate public assembly so young people planned a virtual campaign on social media.

Student climate strikes go global 'To educate adults' In India, protests were seen in 36 different cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Students in New Delhi chanted slogans demanding the Indian government stop using coal and act against climate change and air pollution.

Student climate strikes go global Berlin takes matters into its own hands While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has supported the movement, some German students are still afraid to skip school. But not all. Protests were planned for 200 cities across the country. In the German capital, the crowds were huge by midday.

Student climate strikes go global Braving the storm In the western German city of Cologne, students braved the wet weather. Massive storms have recently battered that part of the country, though they only appeared to fan the flames of the students' protest.

Student climate strikes go global Swedish inspiration Greta Thunberg (center) led one of the many protests in Sweden. She said she was excited that protests had spread to 2,052 places in 123 countries. Asked if adults should strike too, she replied: "It's up to them, if they want their kids to have a future."

Student climate strikes go global 'Denial is not a policy' Students in South African cities, including Cape Town and Pretoria, joined in the school strike. Africa, with more than 1 billion people, is expected to be hardest hit by global warming even though it contributes the least to greenhouse gas emissions.

Student climate strikes go global Strike across the US Strikes were held by students in cities across the country, including New York, Washington, Chicago, Portland, Oregon and St. Paul, Minnesota. In June 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Paris agreement on mitigating climate change.

Student climate strikes go global Guterres: 'My generation has failed' Montreal drew among the largest crowds, estimated by organizers at nearly 150,000. The global movement saw a response from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said he was inspired by the climate strikers to call a special summit in September to deal with "the climate emergency." Author: Tom Allinson



Many environmental activists think French President Emmanuel Macron's government isn't ambitious enough in cutting carbon emissions despite scientific proof that current levels of greenhouse gases are unsustainable.

Read more: Climate change: Governments don't act? We do!

His passionate call this week to speed up the global fight against climate change did little to placate them.

Macron sees himself as a guarantor of the 2015 Paris climate accordand has stood up firmly to skepticism from US President Donald Trump.

Many of those protesting on Saturday were young people, some of whom had already marched the previous day in a youth protest for climate change action.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of people skipped school to take part in the global student climate demonstration inspired by 16-year-old Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.

mm/aw (AFP, AP)

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