Metropolis Desk-
A protester wearing a dress in the colours of the Ukrainian flag staged a dramatic demonstration on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival tonight, pouring fake blood over herself before being dragged away by security.
In an apparent show of support for the war-torn country, the unidentified young woman doused herself in a red substance at the premiere of Just Philippot’s film ‘Acide’, reports Daily Mail.
The woman appeared on the red carpet alongside A-listers in a floor-length blue and yellow ballgown.
She then appeared to reach into her dress before pulling out a capsule of fake blood, raising it above her head, and bursting it as she smiled for the cameras.
The demonstration came after the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today compared the Russian invaders’ violent destruction of parts of his country to the devastation seen in Hiroshima.
Horrifying images out of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, have today shown the extent of destruction wrought by Vladimir Putin’s forces in the country.
During the 15 months of fighting, protesters around the world have regularly drawn attention to the bloodshed being faced by the Ukrainian people.
Tonight’s protest in Cannes saw security at the star-studded Festival drag a protester, who was entirely doused in fake blood, off the carpet.
It is not yet confirmed whether the shocking demonstration was a condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine or why it took place at the premiere of the French director’s film, ‘Acide’.
A similar protest was staged by a Ukrainian at last year’s film festival, when a woman took to the red carpet to send a damning message about the action’s of Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The protestor crashed the red carpet fully-clothed, reports said, before stripping off to reveal she was wearing body paint that read ‘Stop raping us’.
She was also plastered with a Ukrainian flag and had the word ‘Scum’ written across her back.
The woman staged her protest during the premiere of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years Of Longing on the fourth day of the prestigious event.
Before the festival opened this week, Cannes boss Thierry Frémaux told press that the festival stands in solidarity with Ukraine and pointed to a Ukraine flag pin on his lapel.
Last year, President Zelensky opened the festival in a speech livestreamed from Kyiv.
In it, he called on the global film industry to take a stand against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, saying ‘Cinema must not be silent.’
The festival also put in place a blanket ban on Russian delegations or film companies connected to the Putin government from partaking. The ban still stands this year.
Today’s protest came as the eyes of the world are on the southern French city, which has seen glamorous celebrities flock to red carpets for the 76th annual film festival.
This year’s festival is taking place against the backdrop of protests amid unrest across France following Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the state retirement age.
Police in Cannes last week announced they would be cracking down on all forms of protest in the area around the festival to ‘guarantee public order’.
The festival has historically served as a backdrop for protest, but authorities are determined to stamp out any trouble before it has even started amid ongoing unrest over pension reforms nationwide.
In an unusual move, all demonstrations and gatherings were banned on the public highway for the duration of the Festival by the region’s Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture.
The ban on demonstrations by local authorities in the city, covering May 16 to 27, was posted by the prefecture on its website last Friday.
It said it was necessary in order ‘to guarantee public order during an exceptionally big and international event’.
It covers the Rue d’Antibes, the Palais des Festivals, the Croisette and the Promenade de Pantiero alongside the Marché du Film’s International Village.
Source: Daily Mail
