In the wake of the November 13 terrorist attacks on Paris, French Prime Minister Manuel Vall has said events outside of the planned climate change conference will “undoubtedly be cancelled” due to safety concerns. But organizers of a global march planned for November 29 are pushing to keep the action. The final decision will not come until November 19.
Led by groups like
Avaaz and 350.org, the march is intended as a follow-up to last year’s march in
New York City, which filled the city’s streets with hundreds of thousands of people from
labor unions, economic justice organizations, and big environmental groups like
the Sierra Club. Much like that march, the Paris action is intended to show the
diverse interests represented by climate activism. And according to organizers,
the Global Climate March should top last year’s in size and scope.
If organizers are unable to go forth with their plan, actions will still take place across the globe: protests and marches that were meant to stand in solidarity with the larger march in Paris. For a movement that intended Paris as a hopeful turning point on the long road ahead, canceling the central action would undoubtedly be a symbolic setback.