On Monday, the 2nd of June, Greenpeace activists stole a wax figure of French President Emmanuel Macron from the Grévin Museum in Paris and placed it outside the Russian Embassy to protest France’s continued cooperation with Russian companies and its lack of action to combat climate change, according to Reuters.
In a statement announcing the removal of the figure, Greenpeace said that Macron “does not deserve to be displayed in this world-famous cultural institution until he ends France’s contracts with Russia and promotes an ambitious and sustainable ecological transition across Europe”.
A Greenpeace representative said that the activists visited the museum on Monday morning along with other visitors and went to the room where Macron’s wax figure was on display.
They quickly took the figure and left the building, where other activists were waiting for them in a car.
“There was no confrontation with museum security because we had planned everything carefully to ensure that the operation went quickly,” said the representative, adding that the museum had not been informed of the action in advance.
The Grévin Museum, which according to its website has more than 200 wax figures of famous people on display, did not immediately comment.
The head of Greenpeace France pointed out that although France and Europe are providing political, diplomatic and financial assistance to Ukraine, they are acting inconsistently by continuing to import large quantities of gas, chemical fertilisers and uranium from Russia.
In Paris, Greenpeace activists stole President Macron’s wax figure from the Grévin Museum and placed it outside the Russian Embassy.
Three of the activists were dressed as museum staff. Near the embassy, they unfolded a banner reading: “Ukraine is burning, and trade goes on.”… pic.twitter.com/ApNxlrXzNN
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 2, 2025
France, along with Belgium and Spain, is one of the main importers of LNG in Europe.
The European Union is developing measures to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, but part of its imports are tied to long-term contracts that run until 2041. Such contracts have been signed with companies such as France’s TotalEnergies, SEFE and Naturgy.
Greenpeace said it would return the statue but could not yet confirm when.