PARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Dozens of climate activists
invaded U.S. asset manager BlackRock's office in central Paris
on Monday, calling for the fund to pull out of fossil fuel
investments.
Green activists from the campaign groups Extinction
Rebellion and Fridays for Future managed to enter the building
and to reach the fourth floor, where they graffitied walls.
"This company has a lot of influence in many sectors and we
are trying to convey what we are asking for, we want to change
this capitalistic system", Emilia, a 15-year-old Fridays for
Future group member, said.
Activists wrote tags such as "I want to live" or "Murderers"
on the walls and blocked the entrance with ropes and rolling
office cabinets before riot police arrived.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent
intrusion and acts of vandalism in our offices," BlackRock, the
world's biggest asset manager, said in a statement.
BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink warned company boards
in January to step up efforts to tackle climate change or face
increased wrath from investors concerned about the impact of
unsustainable business practices on their future wealth.
In his annual letter to CEOs, Fink said his firm would exit
investments that presented high sustainability-related risk,
including thermal coal producers, as it participated in what he
described as a "fundamental reshaping of finance".
Extinction Rebellion last month targeted energy group Royal
Dutch Shell's headquarters in The Hague and McKinsey &
Co's London office, and staged a demonstration at a Brussels car
show at which 185 protesters were detained.
(Lucien Libert and Thierry Chiarello; Writing by Matthieu
Protard; Editing by Jan Harvey)