After rise in climate direct action, Europe cracks down

FILE PHOTO: Protesters clash with the gendarmerie during a demonstration called by the collective "Bassines Non Merci" against the "basins" on the construction site of new water storage infrastructure for agricultural irrigation in western France, in Sainte-Soline, France March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Simon Lachner had plans to glue himself to a German city thoroughfare in June to call public attention to climate change. Instead, he ended up in police custody before he'd even left his home.

Lachner, 28, is one of thousands of activists caught up in a European crackdown on a wave of direct action protests that gathered pace last year demanding urgent government action against climate change.