Paris: Greenpeace activists abseil down Arc de Triomphe and pour yellow paint on road

Greenpeace activists stormed the Arc de Triomphe, one of Paris' landmark monuments, from which they abseiled and poured yellow paint on its famous roundabout.

At the top of the Champs Elysees, green activists used bikes to pour the paint on the cobblestone street, letting Paris traffic spread it around the monument. Greenpeace said they wanted to paint the sun, calling on the French government to accelerate the development of the use of renewable energy in the country and especially solar power.

Greenpeace coordinator Frederic Amiel said: "Eighty Greenpeace activists are here on the Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe to send a message to Francois Hollande: France presents itself as a model during this climate conference but in fact today France develops three times less renewable energy than its European neighbours. So we drew a giant sun on the Place de l'Etoile and put banners up to call out to Francois Hollande and accelerate the development of renewable energies."

Other Greenpeace activists abseiled down from the monument, some hanging from the top, others holding banners calling for French President Hollande to do more for renewable energy. Police were seen arresting several people.