Around a hundred people gathered at Place Stanislas in Nancy on October 19, 2024. Protesters demand the release of Paul Watson. This anti-whaling activist has been imprisoned in Greenland since July 2024 due to a Japanese arrest warrant. Japanese authorities accuse him of damage and injuries during confrontations with whalers.
“Free Paul Watson!”
Show their support. Behind the large banner, the demonstrators chant “free Paul Watson!” Régine has supported the activist every day since his arrest last July. “I put a poster on Facebook every day saying that Paul Watson must be released”she says. The retiree does not understand why he was arrested: “It’s an aberration. Why would we condemn someone who saves the living?”
Japanese authorities accuse Paul Watson of damage and injury during confrontations between Sea Shepperd boats and whalers. Gérard refutes the accusations. “The Watson method is scary and that’s why people hypocritically try to accuse him of violence. But he doesn’t sit idly by and that’s how it is.”he exclaims.
Nancy town hall hangs his portrait
The gathering is organized at the initiative of the Sea Shepperd group from Strasbourg. One of its managers, Charlotte Marrel believes that it is the movement in its entirety that is attacked. “If Paul Watson falls, everything behind him will fall.”she protests. The activist sees Paul Watson’s arrest as an attempt to scare activists: “If we neutralize it, any environmental activist is likely to be imprisoned.”
The Nancy town hall also shows its support for the activist against whaling. She installed a portrait of Paul Watson on its facade.
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