Ludes v. France: The imperative of a strong necessity test to counter the criminalisation of protest

The events that led to the case of Ludes and Others v. France began in early 2019, when climate activists, mostly affiliated with the French environmental campaign Action Non-Violente COP21, launched a coordinated protest under the banner #DécrochonsMacron (“Take Down Macron”). Their objective was both symbolic and strategic: to draw attention to what they perceived as a lack of political action on climate change in France, and to force a national conversation on the issue. Yet, they probably did not anticipate sparking a legal debate that would reach the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In Ludes and Others v. France, which was decided on 3 July 2025, the Court was faced with the question of whether peaceful civil disobedience, especially that aimed at raising public awareness of the climate crisis, could be subject to criminal sanctions under the guise of protecting property. And if so, what impact does this have on freedom of expression and the right to protest in Europe today?