Orange paint sprayed on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin by the Last Generation protest group. AP
Orange paint sprayed on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin by the Last Generation protest group. AP
Orange paint sprayed on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin by the Last Generation protest group. AP
Orange paint sprayed on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin by the Last Generation protest group. AP

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Europe

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate spray-painted by climate activists

Police arrested all 14 protesters at the site and launched an investigation into property damage

Soraya Ebrahimi
Soraya Ebrahimi

September 17, 2023

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Climate activists hit Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, spraying orange and yellow paint on its columns to push demands for a stop to the use of fossil fuels by 2030.

"Members of the so-called Last Generation sprayed the columns on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint from fire extinguishers during the morning," Berlin police said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Police officers saw a hydraulic lift was being used at the gate and kept the protesters from scaling the structure, officials said.

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German climate activists return to streets after police raids

Police arrested all 14 protesters at the site and launched an investigation into property damage.

The Last Generation, a German group within the Europe-wide A22 network, which includes Britain's Just Stop Oil, has made headlines in Germany with hundreds of road blocks by protesters who glued themselves to the tarmac.

Their actions have led to a law-enforcement crackdown by Germany's federal states.

Climate activists glue themselves to artworks in protest - in pictures

'Campbell's Soup Cans' by Andy Warhol was been targeted by climate activists at the National Gallery of Australia. Photo: Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies
'Campbell's Soup Cans' by Andy Warhol was been targeted by climate activists at the National Gallery of Australia. Photo: Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies
A police officer stands outside the Mauritshuis museum, where three people were arrested for attempting to smudge Vermeer's painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', currently exhibited there, in The Hague, Netherlands on October 27, 2022. EPA
A police officer stands outside the Mauritshuis museum, where three people were arrested for attempting to smudge Vermeer's painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', currently exhibited there, in The Hague, Netherlands on October 27, 2022. EPA
Two environmental activists of Last Generation glue themselves to metal bars around a display of dinosaur skeletons and holding a banner reading "what if the government does not have it under control" in the Berlin's Natural History Museum, in Berlin on October 30. AFP
Two environmental activists of Last Generation glue themselves to metal bars around a display of dinosaur skeletons and holding a banner reading "what if the government does not have it under control" in the Berlin's Natural History Museum, in Berlin on October 30. AFP
Climate protesters of Last Generation after throwing mashed potatoes at the Claude Monet painting 'Les Meules' at Potsdam’s Barberini Museum on October 24. AP
Climate protesters of Last Generation after throwing mashed potatoes at the Claude Monet painting 'Les Meules' at Potsdam’s Barberini Museum on October 24. AP
Protesters throw two tins of Heinz tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London on October 14. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Protesters throw two tins of Heinz tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London on October 14. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Three young supporters of Just Stop Oil spray-painted around the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Two also glued themselves to the frame of Horatio McCulloch's painting 'My Heart’s in the Highlands' on June 29 this year. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Three young supporters of Just Stop Oil spray-painted around the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Two also glued themselves to the frame of Horatio McCulloch's painting 'My Heart’s in the Highlands' on June 29 this year. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Two activists glued themselves to the frame of Vincent van Gogh’s 'Peach Trees in Blossom' (1889) at The Courtauld Gallery in London on June 30. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Two activists glued themselves to the frame of Vincent van Gogh’s 'Peach Trees in Blossom' (1889) at The Courtauld Gallery in London on June 30. Photo: Just Stop Oil
On July 1, two activists glued themselves to the frame of 'Tomson’s Aeolian Harp' (1809), a painting by JMW Turner, at the Manchester Art Gallery. Photo: Just Stop Oil
On July 1, two activists glued themselves to the frame of 'Tomson’s Aeolian Harp' (1809), a painting by JMW Turner, at the Manchester Art Gallery. Photo: Just Stop Oil
Activists from the 'Just Stop Oil' campaign group cover 'The Hay Wain' painting by English artist John Constable, in a mock 'undated' version including roads and aircraft, before glueing their hands to the frame in protest against the use of fossil fuels, at The National Gallery in London on July 4. AFP
Activists from the 'Just Stop Oil' campaign group cover 'The Hay Wain' painting by English artist John Constable, in a mock 'undated' version including roads and aircraft, before glueing their hands to the frame in protest against the use of fossil fuels, at The National Gallery in London on July 4. AFP
Activists glue their hands to the frame of the painting 'The Hay Wain' on July 4. AFP
Activists glue their hands to the frame of the painting 'The Hay Wain' on July 4. AFP
Five Just Stop Oil activists spray paint the wall and glue themselves to the frame of the painting the 'Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci on July 5, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photo: In Pictures via Getty Images
Five Just Stop Oil activists spray paint the wall and glue themselves to the frame of the painting the 'Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci on July 5, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photo: In Pictures via Getty Images
Two activists of the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) environmentalist group glue themselves to the glass protecting Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's 'Primavera (Spring)' in Florence's Uffizi Galleries on July 22. Photo: Ultima Generation via AP
Two activists of the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) environmentalist group glue themselves to the glass protecting Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's 'Primavera (Spring)' in Florence's Uffizi Galleries on July 22. Photo: Ultima Generation via AP
A museum official tries to block two activists of Ultima Generazione (Last Generation). Photo: Ultima Generation via AP
A museum official tries to block two activists of Ultima Generazione (Last Generation). Photo: Ultima Generation via AP
Visitors take pictures and video of the 'Mona Lisa' after cake was smeared on its protective glass at the Louvre Museum in Paris on May 29. Photo: Twitter / @klevisl007 via Reuters
Visitors take pictures and video of the 'Mona Lisa' after cake was smeared on its protective glass at the Louvre Museum in Paris on May 29. Photo: Twitter / @klevisl007 via Reuters

The Last Generation posted pictures of the spray-painting on X.

"We will not stop our protest unless a pivot is initiated. We have to exit oil, natural gas and coal by 2030 at the latest," it said.

Germany aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045, but it missed annual targets for the past two years.

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