The 2022 Tour de France was temporarily put on hold after climate protesters blocked part of the course Tuesday.
Stage 10 of the race was disrupted by activists from the French climate group Derniere Renovation who sat across the road to block a clear and safe passage forward, according to CNN. At one point stage leader Alberto Bettiol rode his bike through the protesters but later had to stop, the outlet noted.
Police removed the activists after about a 15-minute delay.
"Since the government doesn't care about the climate crisis, we need to come and take over the Tour de France to refocus attention on what matters for our survival," climate activists movement Derniere Renovation in a statement, according to the BBC. "We need to make our government react as they lead us to the slaughterhouse."
Taking to Twitter, the organization said it "interrupted the 10th stage of the Tour de France between Morzine and Megève in the commune of Magland to stop the mad race towards the annihilation of our society." The statement said that the group "can no longer remain spectators of the ongoing climate disaster. We have 989 days left to save our future, our humanity.
"Our goal is to force legislation to drastically reduce France's emissions, starting with energy reform, the area most likely to bring together social and climate justice today. This is our last chance to avoid catastrophic and irreversible consequences: deadly heat, extreme weather events, famines, mass migrations, armed conflicts ... and this is for all the next generations of humans."
Magnus Cort of Denmark shot to the lead after the race restarted, finishing ahead of Australia's Nick Schultz to win the 10th stage, according to NBC Sports. Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia, the two-time defending champion, remains the overall leader of the event, The New York Times reported.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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