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A giant banner in Moncloa calls for nuclear plants to close
Moncloa woke up to an unusual sight. Greenpeace activists unfurled a large yellow banner on the Arco de la Victoria bearing Pedro Sánchez's face and a message to the Prime Minister demanding that he maintain the timetable for closing nuclear power plants.
During the morning, the action turned one of the busiest spots in north-west Madrid into the scene of a protest. The banner could be seen from around the Moncloa transport interchange, parque del Oeste and several nearby roads, attracting the attention of pedestrians, drivers and public transport users.
The Policía Nacional cordoned off the area around the monument and restricted pedestrian access while firefighters worked to remove the banner. Roads remained open to traffic, although the scene disrupted the usual routine of an area where university life, buses, the metro, cars and a great deal of early-morning movement converge.
The protest comes amid tensions over the future of the Almaraz nuclear power station. The Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear has issued a favourable report on extending the plant's operation until 2030, a decision that now rests with the Government and which Greenpeace interprets as a threat to the planned closure timetable.
The environmental organisation points out that Almaraz was due to be the first power station to close, in 2027, as part of a process that would culminate with Trillo in 2035. For Greenpeace, extending the lives of nuclear power stations would mean holding back an energy transition based on renewables, storage and reduced dependence on technologies it considers obsolete.
The message sought to challenge Pedro Sánchez directly at a highly visible urban location. The Arco de la Victoria, beside Moncloa, allows any large-scale intervention to quickly become a political image, especially on a morning of heavy traffic.
The action also reopens the debate about how the battle over energy is fought in public space. Decisions about power stations, renewables, safety and electricity prices seem remote, but they end up occupying streets, monuments and transport hubs when they conflict with political commitments.
The scene leaves a clear image: the nuclear shutdown is no longer just a technical timetable between the Government, companies and regulators. In Madrid this Tuesday, it appeared hanging from a monument at a busy time, as a reminder that the energy transition is also contested in full public view.