Climate activists continued their protests against the major event on the second and third days of the International Motor Show. On Wednesday, 22 protesters went on a bike ride through the city center. On Barer Strasse, on the way back to the protest camp in Luitpoldpark, they were stopped by police officers to establish their personal details. The activists refer to Section 27 of the Road Traffic Act, saying that they are a “closed association”, a “critical mass”, for which, in their view, different rules apply than for normal road users. The police, however, are of the opinion that it was an unannounced meeting. The inspection took around 30 minutes. The activists see the actions of the police as an attempt to criminalize climate protests and intimidate activists.
A Munich swallowed by the desert
On Thursday night, Attac activists exchanged advertising posters in many places in the city for their own posters with content critical of the IAA. The police speak of around 40 posters that were put up, including around the main train station, at Rosenheimer and at Wiener Platz; According to Attac, there were also posters in the Westend. Under the heading “The freedom you mean”, the motifs show a car in front of three different backgrounds: Berlin affected by forest fires, Hamburg sunken in the sea and Munich swallowed up by the desert.
At around 3 a.m., two activists were observed by the police putting up such a poster on Elisabethplatz. According to the police, the posters themselves are not objectionable, but putting them up on public property represents a special use – without permission, this is a violation of the Bavarian Roads and Highways Act, and therefore an administrative offense. Attac explains that the fake advertising is directed against the auto industry and “its greenwashing attempts”. “The lobbying policy of the car manufacturers and their allies in the Ministry of Transport ensures that people and nature continue to fall under the wheels of this climate-damaging industry,” says an activist, according to a statement from Attac.
On Thursday morning, 13 activists from the “Last Generation” blocked the road at the transition from the A8 to the Innsbrucker Ring. The blockade lasted around an hour and a half. An activist was apparently poured coffee on by a driver. The coffee was lukewarm and no medical treatment was required.