The facade of French energy supplier Engie’s headquarters on Boulevard Simon Bolivar in Brussels was vandalised on Monday evening by environmental activists, RTBF reports. Activists threw paint at the building and wrote “profiteer of misery” in response to rising energy prices.
The act has been claimed by activists from a group called “Étoile Noire” (Black Star), which claims to campaign in favour of collective management of national resources and opposes privatisation. The group has focused its efforts on energy provider Engie, which it accuses of making indecent profits against the backdrop of the current energy crisis.
Some suppliers, including Engie, have seen their profits more than double in the last half of 2022, all while increasing dividends paid to their shareholders. Belgians have struggled under the weight of ever-increasing energy bills. The demand for payment plans for energy bills has increased sharply, and average annual energy bills rose up to €6,000 last year.
In a press release, Étoiel Noire said that the increase in energy bills was not an inevitable result of the energy crisis, but rather the result of political choices.
