Finland Tactical: XR activists to stage protest march from Parliament House to Supreme Court in Helsinki at 13:00 (local time) on June 30; maintain heightened vigilance

Jun 2024

8:03 UTC

Climate activists associated with Extinction Rebellion (XR) will stage a protest march starting in front of the Parliament House in Helsinki from 13:00 (local time) on June 30.
Following the initial protest, participants will march through the Government Palace, before concluding at the Supreme Court.
This protest is the culminating event for the “Storm Warning” campaign organized to demand the government cut subsidies that are harmful to the climate and the environment.

Based on precedent and social media engagement, the slated protest is expected to attract turnout ranging in the high hundreds to low thousands.
Given the tendency of climate activists to resort to disruptive tactics, such as road blockades, sit-in protests, and slow walks, this protest carries a latent potential for unrest in the form of localized scuffles between protesters and police who may attempt to remove demonstrators. However, such scuffles are unlikely to escalate into wider unrest. Additionally, the possibility of XR activists holding sit-in protests at central Helsinki streets cannot be ruled out completely.
As such, a bolstered police presence is likely to be deployed along the vicinity of the protest route, as a precautionary measure to monitor proceedings. In the event of escalating unrest, authorities are liable to use forcible crowd dispersal methods, including conducting mass arrests, to control crowds.
Significant disruptions to pedestrian and vehicular traffic are anticipated in the vicinity of the aforementioned locations from the afternoon hours. Such disruptions are likely to be heightened should protesters stage road blockades.

Those operating or residing in Helsinki on June 30 are advised to maintain heightened vigilance near the aforementioned locations due to the latent potential for unrest at the slated protest.
Allot for travel-related disruptions along the protest march route from afternoon hours onwards.

Low

Helsinki, Finland

Medium

Credible

Climate activists associated with Extinction Rebellion (XR) will stage a protest march starting in front of the Parliament House in Helsinki from 13:00 (local time) on June 30.
Following the initial protest, participants will march through the Government Palace, before concluding at the Supreme Court.
This protest is the culminating event for the “Storm Warning” campaign organized to demand the government cut subsidies that are harmful to the climate and the environment.

Based on precedent and social media engagement, the slated protest is expected to attract turnout ranging in the high hundreds to low thousands.
Given the tendency of climate activists to resort to disruptive tactics, such as road blockades, sit-in protests, and slow walks, this protest carries a latent potential for unrest in the form of localized scuffles between protesters and police who may attempt to remove demonstrators. However, such scuffles are unlikely to escalate into wider unrest. Additionally, the possibility of XR activists holding sit-in protests at central Helsinki streets cannot be ruled out completely.
As such, a bolstered police presence is likely to be deployed along the vicinity of the protest route, as a precautionary measure to monitor proceedings. In the event of escalating unrest, authorities are liable to use forcible crowd dispersal methods, including conducting mass arrests, to control crowds.
Significant disruptions to pedestrian and vehicular traffic are anticipated in the vicinity of the aforementioned locations from the afternoon hours. Such disruptions are likely to be heightened should protesters stage road blockades.

Those operating or residing in Helsinki on June 30 are advised to maintain heightened vigilance near the aforementioned locations due to the latent potential for unrest at the slated protest.
Allot for travel-related disruptions along the protest march route from afternoon hours onwards.

Low

Helsinki, Finland

Medium

Credible

Protest