Amazon sites in Europe are targets of actions by environmental activists

Anti-Black Friday activists targeted several sites of giant Amazon in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands on Friday November 26, according to them, to denounce overconsumption encouraged by the American online sales giant. ,

Members of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion organized specifically to protest the blockade of Amazon distribution centers“obsession with overconsumption” According to him it is a symbol of “Black Friday”. The thirteen British sites targeted by the organization early in the morning represent more than half of the American group’s deliveries in the country, according to them.

Amazon, which launched its promotional campaign on Thursday, kicking off the Christmas shopping season, is focusing most of its attacks on promotional offers offered by several merchants on Friday. Make, an international coalition of nearly 40 organizations including Amazon Pay, Greenpeace and Oxfam, accuses the Seattle group of placing profits for the well-being of its employees and backing protesting workers against their working conditions or going on strike on Friday. goes.

thirteen arrests

In the Scottish center of Dunfermline, about 20 workers were blocking vehicles from entering and some were preventing them from leaving, the Press Association news agency reported, which counted thirteen arrests of activists by police at three blocked sites at the end of the day.

“This action is intended to expose Amazon’s crimes while also being an example of a larger economic system that drives us to buy things we don’t need that we can’t afford.”, Extinction Rebellion explained in a statement,

The environmental movement reported that it also targeted two sites in Germany and the Netherlands, where activists blocked access to an Amazon depot at Amsterdam airport.

“Stop plundering the planet”

In London, between twenty and thirty members of the Association «Labor Behind the Label» ,“The Work Behind the Label”) demonstrated in front of the company’s headquarters in the country raising slogans “Amazon, Amazon, we’re not robots” and calling “pay someone” A reporter from the US firm, Agnes France-Presse (AFP), noted.

“Stop plundering the planet”, “Smile, it’s Black Friday” Or ‘Stop stealing workers’ wages’Can we read on the signs put up by the protesters. One of them wore a mask depicting Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “Black Friday is a huge party to buy things” whereas “climate emergency” on the contrary imposes “Curb Our Consumption”, an activist of the association, condemned Anna Bryer, noting that Amazon was taking advantage of the situation.

“We’ve allowed big companies like Amazon to violate workers’ rights for a very long time.”

When contacted by Agence France-Presse, Amazon explained that it was working to use its network in a way to minimize consequences for its customers. “We take our responsibilities seriously, including our commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040”stressed that a spokesperson for the group is often criticized for its social and financial practices.

He assured to provide “A safe and modern work environment” and support “The Tens of Thousands of Small Businesses That Sell” on its platform. In the UK, the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), an association representing independent retailers, estimated that 85% of these small traders would boycott “Black Friday”.