Protesters march in France calling for freeze on energy hungry data centers

(7 Nov 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Corbehem and Brebières, Pas-de-Calais department, France - 7 November 2026 1. Mid of protester wearing "No Data Center" jacket 2. Set-up Ludevine Delannoy, spokesperson for local citizen action group opposing the data center development 3. SOUNDBITE (French) Ludevine Delannoy, spokesperson for local citizen action group: "What is essential for us is to be able to make our voices heard regarding this data center project, which involves several environmental and public health aberrations. This is a data center that will have a significant electricity consumption of 2,890 GWh, which corresponds to 33% of the consumption of the Pas-de-Calais region. In terms of ground impact, there will be 4 buildings of 25 square meters, which is roughly equivalent to 14 football fields. Additionally, this data center will have a cooling system using a refrigerant gas, of 1,234 Z2, which belongs to the PFAS chemical family. The system allows for an annual loss of 5%, which could potentially release 2.8 tons of PFAS into the environment. It is important to know that PFAS are also known as eternal pollutants, pose health risks, including carcinogenic risks." 4. Mid of protesters holding signs against a data center 5. Mid of protesters walking and holding signs against AI data centers 6. Various of protesters marching with signs opposing data centers in villages Brebières 7. Protesters against data center development posing for photo STORYLINE: Campaigners against data centers in Europe staged protests and other actions in several countries Saturday, demanding a moratorium on large-scale developments to address social and environmental concerns around the energy-hungry facilities. In France, a local citizen march took place in the Pas-de-Calais region to highlight what organizers called severe environmental and public health threats posed by a proposed data center complex. "What is essential for us is to be able to make our voices heard regarding this data center project, which involves several environmental and public health aberrations," said protest organizer Ludivine Delannoy. Delannoy said the facility's projected annual electricity consumption of 2,890 gigawatt-hours would account for roughly 33% of the total power consumed in the Pas-de-Calais region. The physical footprint of the project consists of four buildings covering 25,000 square meters each, an area roughly equivalent to 14 football fields. Environmental advocates, also raised alarms over the data center's cooling infrastructure. The system uses HFO-1234ze, a refrigerant gas belonging to the PFAS chemical family also known as eternal pollutants. Activists warned that a projected 5% annual leakage rate could release 2.8 metric tons of these "forever chemicals" into the local environment each year, potentially increasing regional cancer risks. The demonstrations come days after the U.S. midterm elections ushered in a wave of Democrats promising to clamp down on data centers, which face resistance around the world due to the massive amounts of computing power and water they use. AP video by: Jean-Francois Badias Production by: Masha Macpherson =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/68e5d6a4f534425290785941d4b688b4