Paris, January 16, 2023 / On October 13, 2022, the undersigned, acting as Counsel to the DARWIN CLIMAX COALITION association and the Ukrainian organization RAZOM WE STAND, filed a complaint with the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office (under the International Crimes Unit) regarding acts of complicity in war crimes likely to have been committed by the company TOTAL ENERGIES EP RUSSIE in Ukraine.
 
On January 10, 2023, they were informed that the complaint had been dismissed. According to the reasons for this classification, at the end of the examination of this procedure by the public prosecutor's office, the facts of complicity in the war crime denounced against the company TOTAL ENERGIES would appear insufficiently characterized, on the material level as on the intentional.
 
However, it resulted from a number of revelations by the newspaper Le Monde and NGOs that the Total company had not only maintained its economic activity on the territory of a state openly at war, but even more so, made profits from the sale of gas condensate, the transformation of which into kerosene was able to refuel the Russian air force. These revelations demanded that investigations be carried out, in a context where the presence of foreign multinationals in Russia also has the effect of maintaining an entrenched war.
 
The undersigned strongly contest the assessment made by the prosecution. They consider that the decision is inspired by exclusively political considerations. Indeed, no one can doubt the political will, particularly in the current economic and political context, to spare TOTAL.
 
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of RAZOM WE STAND stated that: 
"Ukrainian people continue to suffer from daily vicious Russian war crimes, recently in Dnipro, that are funded by sales of Russian fossil fuels, often with collaboration of European fossil fuel companies. Total's collaboration with Russia has been well documented and they must be held accountable. The task of holding war criminals and collaborators liable for legal violations must not be left to Ukrainian victims of war, or civil society.
 
The French government and its justice system must be on the side of justice and human rights. They and their prosecutors must be responsible for holding French businesses accountable. Justice must investigate what Total Energies has done in Russia and, depending on the evidence collected, decide whether or not to prosecute. It’s not the time to push back”.
 
The undersigned intend to challenge this decision before the French Attorney General of the Court of Appeal, which they cannot believe will be confirmed.
 
For Cabinet Bourdon & Associés; William BOURDON, Vincent BRENGARTH, Henri THULLIEZ
 
Press Contacts :
RAZOM WE STAND – Svitlana ROMANKO, Director: svitlana@razomwestand.org
DARWIN CLIMAX COALITIONS – Philippe BARRE, President: barre@darwin.camp
 
Cabinet Bourdon & Associés : contact@bourdon-associes.com
Cabinet Thulliez : secretariat@cabinet-thulliez.com