People joined hands up and down the long Boulevard Voltaire in eastern Paris, breaking the chain in front of the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were massacred in the November 13th terrorist attacks, AFP correspondents said.
As hundreds of thousands of people joined protests worldwide, the human chain aimed to send a highly symbolic message to leaders on the eve of the official opening of a 195-nation UN climate summit in Paris.
French authorities cancelled two climate demonstrations in the City of Light after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people on November 13th.
Instead of marching, activists left thousands of pairs of shoes – weighing more than four tonnes according to organisers – on Place de la Republique square. A pair of running shoes was left by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and Pope Francis sent shoes to be placed on his behalf.
Religious leaders in Paris delivered petitions to the UN summit organizers with almost 1.8 million signatures demanding immediate climate action.
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