Pressure is mounting in Germany on the Last Generation climate collective, whose members specialise in gluing themselves to tarmac. Following a series of police raids last month, activists say they are being unjustly criminalised but that the police action has led to a recruitment spike. As the international community marks World Environment Day, FRANCE 24 reports on a group sparking controversy in Germany.
A small group of people in a Berlin backyard shove and push each other while some are tackled from behind and physically carried away. It’s a civil disobedience training session for new recruits of Last Generation, a climate activist group specialised in blocking roads and critical infrastructure.
Laura and Lilly are thinking of becoming Last Generation climate activists, and they’re here to check out if they have what it takes to join a group that has sparked immense controversy in Germany.
“It’s a good way of seeing whether we’re capable of this sort of action,” explains Lilly.
Last month, German police conducted nationwide raids on Last Generation activists over suspicions of “forming or supporting a criminal organisation”.
The raids sparked protests across Germany.
But politicians on all sides of the ideological spectrum support the police action, claiming Last Generation’s tactics are extreme and unproductive.
Click on the video above to watch the full FRANCE 24 report.