Last year, 750 private jets transported stars and Hollywood studio executives to the Croisette, according to estimates by the NGO Transport and Environment (T&E) — the equivalent of 200,000 tons of kerosene consumed, or "the fuel consumption needed to transport 14,000 passengers between Paris and Athens," Jérôme du Boucher, deputy head of aviation at T&E, told AFP. For the 79th Cannes Film Festival, a group of environmental activists is calling on film personalities to choose trains or economy class planes, citing actor Pedro Pascal as an example, who traveled to Cannes on a commercial economy flight in 2025. "There's no reason why others shouldn't do the same," Katie Thompson, a former private pilot and signatory of the appeal, told AFP.
A context of global energy crisis makes the issue even more pressing.
The appeal comes at a particularly tense time. The war in the Middle East has triggered a global energy crisis, and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has entered its fourth month. Many countries will be rationing fuel, more than 500 flights have already been canceled in France, and up to 20 million passengers could be affected by disruptions in Germany during the summer holidays, according to Jérôme du Boucher. In this context, the signatories of the appeal are demanding that the government impose an outright ban on private jets. "The fact that rich and famous people are burning through increasingly scarce fuel to travel to a film festival is not just a sign of blindness, it's obscene," Anthony Viaux, a former Air France pilot and one of the signatories, told AFP. "It seems perfectly obvious that this kerosene should be reserved for more essential uses," added Jérôme du Boucher.
Community
Comments
Comments are open, but protected against spam. Initial posts and comments containing links undergo manual review.
Be the first to comment on this article.