You will recognize him by his height, standing out above all heads and always at the forefront, ready to shoot against political corruption, to demand taxes from the super-rich, or to call for action on climate change with his colorful banners, raised with his powerful arms long as branches.
"Listen to the anger of the people"
The presence of Jean-Baptiste Reddé, also known as 'Voltuan', is once again inevitable in the street protests shaking France amid the ongoing political crisis: "We are in a state of absolute social, economic, and environmental emergency, and politicians continue to play with their egos, drugged as they are by power and money. We have already seen how Sarkozy [is about to enter jail]."
"The political class lives beyond our means"
'Voltuan's messages are like darts thrown at the consciences of those in power. For over 15 years, he has become something like the banner-man, visible from afar at all protests. It would seem that among the protesters there is an unwritten pact: until 'Voltuan' appears, with his arms raised and his accurate proclamations, the march does not start.
"Refugees: our sisters, our brothers"
"My life consists of defending all causes that I consider just," acknowledges 'Voltuan', who retired as a teacher some time ago and has been dedicated body and soul to the "artivism" for over 15 years. When asked about his age, he responds very convinced: "I am millions of years old and I am reborn every day" (then, under his breath, he admits he is 68, an emblematic number for the protest artist).
"I have no children, no car, no ties, so I can dedicate all my time to activism and poetry," he confesses. "What I do have is a cat that has a bit of a shaman. His name is Rookie."
Like any other day, 'Voltuan' gets up at six in the morning to catch the train in Burgundy and arrive on time for the union mobilization in Paris. His headquarters are set up at Café d'Avant, which provides him with space to write his banners, with those colorful letters that stand out amidst the commotion.
"The exploited people rise up"
Fourteen years ago, 'Voltuan' took his banner apostolate to Puerta del Sol, supporting his compatriot Stéphane Hessel, the late author of 'Indignez-vous'. "I returned several times, in solidarity with the outraged," he recalls. "And I was in England, during the Occupy movement and later with Extinction Rebellion. And in the Netherlands at the trial against Monsanto. And in Brussels demanding social rights. And in Germany in front of the European Central Bank headquarters.
His activism knows no borders, and he himself organized protests against the Syrian regime of Assad and against the abuses of the Uighurs in China. He was also seen at every single demonstration in support of Ukraine and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which gave rise to one of his dearest slogans.
"Love and empathy are better than hate and death," says 'Voltuan'. "To love, for me, is to commit. And that is what I have tried to do with all the causes I defend. I do not keep track of all the demonstrations I have attended (nor of the banners, which he renews on the go). When the time comes, I just go. Solidarity is a very strong feeling. I am one of those who believe that love is an infinite source of renewable energy."
The rebellious spirit has been within 'Voltuan' since childhood: "My heroine was the panther Bagheera, from 'The Jungle Book', stretched out on a tree branch, in contact with nature and at the same time protecting the child Mowgli from the dangers of the jungle... I feel that we belong with the animals to the same great family, it is us humans who have insisted on dividing everything and breaking the sense of unity."
"Change the system, not the climate"
Since the historic COP21 in Paris, his presence at climate summits has been almost constant. His particular eco-heroine was the late Jane Goodall, with her message of "hope even in the darkest moments like the ones we are experiencing. In his own way, he feels like "the bearer of that cry of those who suffer, humans or animals, and that's why I raise my arms like trees."
The revolutionary blood of the French also runs through 'Voltuan', from the storming of the Bastille in 1789 to the May 68 uprising... "Do you know how many people went on general strike back then? No less than 9.5 million French people. That was a true revolt. Now we have even more reasons to rebel, but we are not enough."
'Voltuan' was present in the last decade at the protests of the "yellow vests" and in the mobilization against pension reforms. His baptism of fire was in 1995 when he fully participated in the general strike that paralyzed the country and was arrested after a university protest that ended in clashes with the police: "It was the only time I was arrested. My protest is non-violent: the police know me, and I have not had any problems since. But it is true that in France, we have one of the most repressive police forces in Europe, and that is why demonstrations end in violence."
In the most recent protest, 'Voltuan' showed up armed with a double banner: demanding the "Zucman tax" (2% on the assets of the super-rich) and calling Bernard Arnault a "thief" for having his accounts spread across six tax havens.
"The gap between the very rich and those who have nothing is getting bigger and continues to grow beneath the political games being played," he denounces. "All these partisan struggles we are having lead us nowhere. What we need is a national unity government to address the emergency situation we are in, including the "ethical emergency" in politics. Only then will people's trust be restored, and a positive image of our country projected to the world."