Around 20 activists from Extinction Rebellion staged a protest on Friday outside a BNP Paribas Fortis branch in Ghent, accusing the bank of complicity in “genocide,” by financing Israel’s arms industry, and “ecocide,” by investing in fossil fuels.
The protesters assembled around midday, holding banners with messages such as “This bank funds genocide/ecocide” and urging people to “move their money” elsewhere.
Dolls with their mouths covered in black tape were placed on the ground, while demonstrators distributed leaflets to passers-by to the beat of a drum and piano. Some activists lay on the pavement wrapped in white sheets, simulating death.
According to Extinction Rebellion, BNP Paribas remains one of the world’s largest financiers of fossil fuels, channelling $12 billion into the sector in 2023, including in Arctic regions.
The group also criticised the bank’s involvement in the arms industry and support for Israel, which is currently engaged in a deadly conflict in Gaza. Activists claim BNP Paribas’s US subsidiary recently purchased millions of shares in Elbit Systems, a major supplier of weapons to the Israeli military. Additionally, the bank has underwritten billions of dollars in Israeli government bonds, which Extinction Rebellion alleges fund actions in Palestine.
“Financial institutions’ decisions have a direct impact on people and the planet,” a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion said. “Banks have a responsibility for the world they help to shape. BNP Paribas Fortis profits from climate destruction and war, and we cannot stand by and allow this to happen.”
The organisation also warned that insurance companies are increasingly shifting climate-related risks onto citizens while continuing to back fossil fuel investments.
