Greenpeace activists have "borrowed" a wax statue of the French leader for a protest outside the Russian embassy

Activists from the Greenpeace environmental pressure group have stolen a wax statue of President Emmanuel Macron from Paris's Grevin Museum and placed it outside the Russian embassy in a protest against what they claimed to be the French leader's insufficient support for Kiev.

France has become one of Kiev's key backers since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, as well as one of the primary proponents of the idea to deploy a military force into Ukraine - repeatedly floated by Macron.

Paris also cut most economic ties and has consistently pushed for harsher sanctions against Moscow. However, Greenpeace France's executive director, Jean-Francois Julliard, nevertheless accused the French leader of "playing a double game," following the group's stunt on Monday.

Three Greenpeace members entered the Grevin Museum posing as tourists on Monday morning, according to AFP sources. They then disguised themselves as staff, swiftly removed the 40,000 wax figure of Macron, and transported it to the Russian embassy in Paris's 16th arrondissement, all while filming the stunt on video.

The protesters displayed the statue alongside banners criticizing France's ongoing imports of Russian liquefied natural gas and fertilizers. The eco-activists claimed in a statement that they had "borrowed" the statue temporarily and indicated plans to return it, but did not specify when.

The Paris prosecutor's office told Politico that an investigation has been opened into "theft to the detriment of the museum," but no arrests have been reported. The Grevin Museum has not officially commented on the incident.

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Russia designated Greenpeace International as an "undesirable organization" back in May 2023, citing the eco-activist group's record of pushing a political agenda and meddling in domestic affairs with the goal of causing economic damage.