Cutting ties with BNP

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Abstract

By maintaining its banking relationship with BNP Paribas, our Institute is indirectly:

• Financing new, environmentally destructive fossil fuel projects;
• Investing in the nuclear and conventional arms industry;
• Contributing to the support of Israeli colonization and occupation in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

These practices are fundamentally incompatible with the humanist values upheld by the Institut Pasteur and its commitments to social and environmental responsibility (which the Institute will claim during a big event, the 22th of September).

For all these reasons, we formally request a *change of banking institution for the management of our Institute's capital and financial operations (including salary disbursements, credit lines, investments, bond issuances, and account opening for foreign workers, etc.).

Why are we requesting a change of banking institution on behalf of our Institute?

For any organization, the choice of its banking partner is not—and should not be—a purely technical decision. It carries significant social, environmental, and ethical implications that reflect the organization's values and commitments.

By entrusting its financial operations (salary disbursements, credit lines, investments, bond issuances, etc.) to BNP Paribas—a bank that actively invests in fossil fuels and the defense industry—the Institute is indirectly contributing to the financing of:

• Oil, coal, and gas projects that are fundamentally incompatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement;
• Industries involved in the production of weapons (including nuclear arms), and complicit in armed conflicts, genocide, and colonization, as currently observed in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

These facts compel us to formally request that the Institut Pasteur sever its ties with BNP Paribas and select a banking institution that upholds rigorous ethical, social, and environmental standards.

I. BNP Paribas and Fossil Fuel Financing

a) Massive financing since the 2016 Paris Agreement

The 2016 Paris Agreement established several binding objectives:

• Limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with a preferred target of 1.5°C;
• Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 through the progressive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
• Assisting the most vulnerable countries in adapting to rising global temperatures.

Despite these commitments, the Banking on Climate Chaos reports from 2023 and 2026 12 reveal that BNP Paribas has invested $239.4 billion in fossil fuels since the signing of the Paris Agreement. These investments specifically target oil, gas, and coal companies actively developing new extraction projects.

In doing so, the bank has perpetuated the ecocidal model responsible for climate disruption, contributing to increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse—in direct contradiction to its stated commitments.

b) Financing fossil fuel expansion

BNP Paribas has been repeatedly criticized for its financial relationships with TotalEnergies, one of the world's most aggressive actors in fossil fuel expansion and the development of new oil fields.

Investigations by Reclaim France 3 have demonstrated that BNP Paribas is among the leading banks financing TotalEnergies through loans, banking investments, and direct equity stakes.

This raises a fundamental issue of consistency: financing TotalEnergies means financing projects that are fundamentally incompatible with the 1.5°C warming limit.

c) The coal industry

According to the Coal Policy Tracker 4 developed by Reclaim France, which evaluates banks' coal financing policies, BNP Paribas receives a rating of "insufficient." The bank continues to finance coal companies that are expanding extraction and processing operations, undermining global efforts to transition away from coal.

II. Financing of ICE Concentration Camps and the Private Prison System

For over sixteen years, BNP Paribas actively contributed to the financial consolidation of the GEO Group—one of the largest private operators of ICE private detention centers in the United States. The bank administered a $1.692 billion credit facility and subscribed to at least $43.3 million in bonds issued by the company. This financial backing occurred while BNP Paribas simultaneously presented itself as a humanitarian supporter of refugees in Europe.

Following a public commitment in 2019 to sever its ties with the private prison industry, BNP Paribas has since reversed its position. Immediately after Donald Trump's re-election, the bank purchased a substantial volume of GEO Group shares, thereby positioning itself to profit financially from an expected surge in arrests, deportations, and immigration-related detentions.

III. BNP Paribas and the Arms Industry

a) Financing of nuclear weapons

The most recent Don't Bank on the Bomb 2026 report 5, published by PAX and ICAN (Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2017), provides a comprehensive accounting of banks and financial institutions with investments in nuclear weapons producers. According to this report, BNP Paribas provides $9.7 billion in credit and direct investment to the 25 companies involved in the production of nuclear arms, including Thales, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Airbus.

b) Financing of conventional weapons

The High-Risk Arms Trade and the Financial Sector report from 2022 6 identifies BNP Paribas as the leading European bank financing manufacturers that supply weapons to countries at high risk of using them against civilian populations, with €16 billion in financing between 2016 and 2020.

Among the recipient countries are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both implicated in serious violations of international humanitarian law. These nations have conducted airstrikes on hospitals, schools, and residential areas in Yemen, resulting in the deaths of more than 120,000 civilians.

IV. BNP Paribas, Israel's Wars, and the Financing of Israeli Settlements

a) Ties with Major Israeli Arms Producers

The 2025 Don't Buy into Occupation report 7, published by a coalition of civil society organizations, identifies 104 companies whose operations contribute to the perpetuation of the occupation of Palestinian territories, the exploitation of Palestinian natural resources, and the commission of genocide against the Palestinian people.

According to this report, BNP Paribas was the leading European creditor to these 104 companies between 2023 and 2025, extending $41.4 billion in loans and credit facilities. Concurrently, the bank made direct investments totaling $28.3 billion in the same companies. These include:

• Elbit Systems – Israel's premier defense contractor, specializing in drones and surveillance technologies. The company is actively involved in maintaining the occupation and constructing the apartheid wall in the occupied West Bank 8, rendering it a frequent target of human rights organizations.
• Israel Aerospace Industries – A major aerospace and defense manufacturer producing drones, missiles, and other military systems.
• Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – An Israeli state-owned defense company.
• Additional companies include Amazon, Boeing, and TotalEnergies, among others.

Moreover, in March 2024, BNP Paribas participated in a record-breaking $2 billion sovereign bond issuance for Israel, intended to address a war-related budget deficit 9.

These financial activities continue despite the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion 10, which declared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories—including the West Bank and East Jerusalem—illegal under international law, and recognized the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

b) Ties with Israeli Banks Financing Settlements

The role of Israeli banks in colonization:

Israeli banks play a central role in sustaining and expanding illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They provide essential financial services including: mortgages for housing purchases in settlements, loans to settlement municipal authorities, and financing for businesses operating within settlements 11.

BNP Paribas's relationships with major Israeli banks:

According to the Don't Buy into Occupation report 7, BNP Paribas maintains active financial relationships with Israel's largest banking institutions, which are directly implicated in settlement financing:

• Bank Hapoalim – Israel's largest bank and a primary financier of settlement activities. It operates branches within settlements and provides mortgage loans to Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank territories 11.
• Bank Leumi – has financed residential real estate projects in settlements and provided banking services to settlement municipalities 11.
• Mizrahi Tefahot – has been accused of financing land and housing acquisitions in settlements 11.

Investments in companies operating in settlements:

Investigations by Don't Buy into Occupation 7 and Who Profits 12 reveal that BNP Paribas holds or manages investments in Israeli and international companies whose operations are based in or serve illegal settlements:

• Electra Afikim – a transportation company operating bus routes serving illegal settlements.
• Heidelberg Materials – a cement producer exploiting natural resources in the occupied West Bank, thereby contributing to the depletion of Palestinian natural resources.
• Paz Energy – an energy company operating gas stations within settlements.

c) Indirect financing through US arms manufacturers

Even in the absence of direct investment in Israeli companies, BNP Paribas contributes to the financing of major US defense contractors that supply the Israeli military with advanced weaponry 713:

• Boeing – F15 fighter jets, Apache attack helicopters, precision-guided missiles
• RTX – missile systems, guidance and targeting technology
• General Dynamics – main battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles

In July 2026, five human rights organizations —including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights League (LDH)— filed a legal action before the French Council of State (Conseil d'État) seeking injunctive relief to compel the French government to suspend BNP Paribas's operations in the West Bank 14.

V. Proven Complicity in Atrocities in Sudan

In October of last year, BNP Paribas was found complicit by a jury in New York in atrocities committed in Sudan. The bank organized commercial transactions whose proceeds directly financed the army and militias of Omar al-Bashir's regime 14.

A Significant Impact

Through these socially destructive investments, BNP Paribas continues to achieve record-breaking profits—reporting a net banking income (the equivalent of revenue in the banking industry) of €14.1 billion. This demonstrates that the bank's megative impact is severe 14.

BNP's CEO openly boasts of maximizing shareholder returns by increasing management fees and insurance contributions, and of transforming the insurance sector through the use of artificial intelligence 14.

Furthermore, these record revenues do not benefit the public, as BNP Paribas is also a major player in tax avoidance 21, and the French state has no plans to tax these excessive profits 14.