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Friday April 19, 2024

Protesters throw red paint over Guildhal

By AFP
August 28, 2021
Protesters throw red paint over Guildhal

LONDON: Extinction Rebellion protesters have daubed the famous Guildhall in the City of London in red paint. Protesters clad in business suits and masks held signs reading "Fossil fuel finance is killing the Earth" and "The financial industry is bleeding the Earth dry" for the "Blood Money" march on Friday.

Another huge banner read: "Built on blood money." The march was organised in partnership with anti-racism group United for Black Lives, and Extinction Rebellion said it aimed to "highlight the blood-soaked profiteering of our financial system". The climate activists launched a week of action on Monday, with members occupying parts of London including Parliament Square and Oxford Circus.

Friday''s action took aim at what the group said is the City''s ongoing financing of the fossil fuel industry. Extinction Rebellion said in a statement: "The Guildhall is the administrative and ceremonial heart of the corporation of the City of London.

"It is the symbolic and actual centre of the system that is killing us." The headquarters of banking and financial service company Standard Chartered were also splattered with red paint. Fake blood was also poured over the London Stock Exchange, while earlier in the week the water in the Buckingham Palace fountain was dyed red.