In a letter addressed to the French oil company, two NGOs Greenpeace France and Les Amis de la Terre France put TotalÉnergies on notice to cease these activities in Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine. The French oil company did not wish to comment following this letter.
Unlike its competitors, the British BP and the Dutch Shell, which have withdrawn from Russia, the French oil company TotalÉnergies refuses to leave the country. The group indicates, for the moment, that it will no longer provide capital to new projects.
This is not enough for Greenpeace and Les Amis de la Terre, which are calling on TotalÉnergies to cease its activities in Russia, invoking a 2017 French law relating to the duty of vigilance of multinationals. These organizations pose the threat of legal action.
For these two NGOs, TotalÉnergies shows its true face, putting its profits before everything else. Even if it means participating in Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, the French group has invested heavily in the country. Russia represents 24% of TotalÉnergies reserves and 17% of its combined oil and gas production. The group has also developed major liquefied natural gas projects in northern Siberia.
Asked about France 2, government spokesman Gabriel Attal believes that the oil giant is already applying the sanctions and even has them “ advanced by freezing new investments. Regarding the disengagement of the Shell and BP companies, often presented as an example, ” it seems to me that a number of them had already been on the road to disengagement in Russia for several years “, he weighted.
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