TotalEnergies protests in Paris demand tax on fossil fuel superprofits

Environmental NGOs including Attac, Avaaz, 350.org and Action Justice Climat staged a visual protest at La Défense Plaza in Paris during TotalEnergies' Annual General Meeting. Demonstrators depicted French President Emmanuel Macron feeding a cardboard oil pipeline with cash and CEO Patrick Pouyanné surrounded by overflowing profits, highlighting the company's East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline and Mozambique LNG projects.

The protestors called on the French government to halt public support for TotalEnergies, end tax evasion, and impose a levy on the company's super‑profits. They noted that TotalEnergies received at least €400 million in public aid in 2024 while posting record quarterly earnings of about $5.8 billion, a 51% rise year‑on‑year. Left‑wing politicians have proposed a "Total tax" that could raise roughly €2 billion for the state, with some calling for partial nationalisation of the group.

The demonstration reflects growing French public scrutiny of fossil‑fuel subsidies and the demand for stricter taxation of oil‑and‑gas profits.