Hammersmith Goldhawk Road protest

From Indymedia

Seven protesters demonstrated at the Raven Total station at 372 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith against the French oil company on Thursday 28th February. Total's pipeline in Burma was built with forced labour and the company has for years been the largest western sponsor of the brutal regime, funding the military junta with hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Even before the protest had started, the driver of a car at a nearby road junction, spotted a poster being put up and vowed not to use Total petrol stations in future. Several other drivers shared this view later and turned around or just drove through the station promising not to buy petrol from Total.

As the evening rush hour traffic built up, long queues at the traffic lights formed and many cars beeped at the two "Beep 4 Burma. Boycott Total" banners we held up. Many drivers wound down their windows to request leaflets as the queue became stationary/very slow moving.

There were more pedestrians than we were expecting and a very high percentage were interested in the leaflets we were handing out.

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French Film Festival

We've noticed that Total is sponsoring the French Film Festival which is taking place in London and also Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Birmingham, Didsbury, Warwick (see http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk/2008timesENGLAND.html). So we'll be at the first film being shown on 4th March in London though our protest is against Total sponsorship as the largest western sponsors of the brutal Burma military junta, not against the festival or the French films being shown.

Protests in London next week:

Tuesday 4th March

Protest at Total sponsoring French Film Festival
(the protest is against Total, not the film festival or films being shown)
6.00pm - 7:30pm
LONDON CINE LUMIERE
www.institut-francais.org.uk
Institut Francais
17 Queensberry Place London SW7 2DT
Tube: South Kensington | Map
(First Film being shown PRICELESS (15) 7.00pm + Q & A Pierre Salvadori
http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk/2008timesENGLAND.html)

Wednesday 5th March

Meet at Burma Embassy for normal daily Burmese protest
12:00-1pm
Myanmar/Burma Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map:

Total London HQ, 33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PW
1.30pm-3:00pm
Tube: Oxford Circus | Map: