"Last generation": Federal government announces legal action against climate activists

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Protest Action of the »Last Generation«

Photo: Michaela Rehle / REUTERS

The activists of the "Last Generation" always cause debates.

This week, a protest action not only brings them criticism, it is also punishable by law from the federal government's point of view.

At the beginning of the week, climate activists removed traffic signs to lift speed limits on freeways.

The federal government has now announced legal action against those responsible.

"Such acts are no longer a protest, they are simply punishable," said the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Oliver Luksic (FDP), the "Rheinische Post" from Düsseldorf on Friday.

The Autobahn GmbH des Bundes will therefore report the matter in all cases.

"Simply letting traffic signs disappear shows ruthlessness towards road users as well as against law and order," said Luksic, the head of the supervisory board of the federally owned Autobahn GmbH responsible for the autobahn network in Germany.

Activists from the group "Last Generation" protested against the Federal Ministry of Transport, which rejects a general speed limit on motorways.

According to the report, some traffic signs have disappeared and must be replaced.

Motorway sections in several federal states were affected.

Action stopped before Ministry of Transport

Also this week, the climate activists protested in front of the Ministry of Transport in Berlin.

They tried to damage Invalidenstrasse with a jackhammer.

According to a police spokesman, the action could be stopped, so the road surface was not damaged.

For the activists of the “Last Generation” group, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is one of the most important actors in the fight against the climate crisis – but is not doing enough.

asc/AFP