The wealthy burning fuel in short supply to attend a cinema festival is obscene
Each spring, the Cannes Film Festival draws the world's most celebrated storytellers to the French Riviera — but the stories being told outside the Palais may carry more consequence than those within it. Last year, 750 private jets burned two million liters of kerosene to deliver a handful of the privileged few to a cinema celebration, even as a global fuel shortage tightened its grip on ordinary travelers across Europe. The contrast has become impossible to ignore: a system in which the wealthiest not only consume disproportionately, but have quietly arranged to do so beyond the reach of the taxes that govern everyone else.
- 750 private jets consumed enough fuel at Cannes to carry 14,000 commercial passengers from Paris to Athens — during a fuel crisis already canceling hundreds of flights across Europe.
- The Middle East conflict and Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz have pushed the shortage into its fourth month, with Germany bracing for 20 million disrupted summer travelers while celebrities burn kerosene for a film festival.
- Two-thirds of private jets evade EU carbon taxes — reportedly shielded by fear of Trump administration retaliation — while ordinary passengers pay fuel levies on every ticket they buy.
- Retired pilots, former private aviation insiders, and even millionaire advocates are publicly demanding change, pointing to actors like Pedro Pascal who flew economy as proof that alternatives are not only possible but already practiced.
- If Cannes attendees simply switched to commercial travel, the festival could meet 40% of its 2030 CO2 reduction target in one year — a figure that has galvanized EU calls to close the loopholes protecting private aviation.
Last year, 750 private jets descended on Cannes, burning two million liters of kerosene to ferry Hollywood's elite to the world's most prestigious film festival — the equivalent of what 14,000 passengers would consume on a commercial Paris-to-Athens flight. The timing, climate activists say, could not have been worse.
A global fuel shortage is tightening across Europe. Disruptions from the Middle East conflict and Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz have already forced France to cancel over 500 flights, while Germany expects up to 20 million summer travelers to face disruptions. Against this backdrop, the private jet has crystallized into a symbol of inequality at a moment of genuine scarcity.
Anthony Viaux, a retired Air France pilot, called the spectacle "obscene." Former private jet pilot Katie Thompson echoed him, pointing to actor Pedro Pascal — who flew to Cannes in economy class — as evidence that alternatives exist. The environmental group Transport and Environment, whose investigation surfaced these figures, is now pressing European governments to ban private jets outright.
But the story has a second, sharper edge. Two-thirds of private jets currently escape EU carbon taxes, reportedly because Brussels fears retaliation from the Trump administration if the Emissions Trading System were expanded to cover them. Ordinary passengers pay fuel and carbon taxes on every journey. Even some millionaires find the arrangement indefensible — Julia Davies of Patriotic Millionaires UK noted that the wealthiest have managed to keep their most extravagant luxury largely untaxed while others bear the burden.
The arithmetic of change is striking: a full switch to commercial travel by Cannes attendees could deliver 40% of the festival's 2030 carbon reduction target in a single year. Viaux and others are urging EU policymakers to close the loopholes — and to stop letting Washington set the terms. The festival itself has not yet responded.
Last year, 750 private jets descended on Cannes, each one carrying a handful of Hollywood's elite to the world's most prestigious film festival. Together, those flights burned through two million liters of kerosene—a volume equivalent to what 14,000 passengers would consume flying commercially between Paris and Athens. The timing, climate activists say, could not have been worse.
A global fuel shortage is tightening across Europe. The Middle East conflict has disrupted supply chains. Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz has now stretched into its fourth month following American and Israeli strikes on Tehran. France alone has already canceled more than 500 flights. Germany expects up to 20 million passengers to face disruptions during the summer holiday season. Against this backdrop, the sight of celebrities and studio executives burning millions of liters of fuel to attend a film festival has crystallized something activists have long argued: the private jet has become a symbol of obscene inequality in a moment of genuine scarcity.
Anthony Viaux, a retired Air France pilot, put it plainly. "The wealthy and famous burning fuel in short supply to attend a cinema festival is not just insensitive," he told the AFP. "It is obscene." He is not alone. Katie Thompson, a former private jet pilot herself, has joined the chorus calling for change. She points to Pedro Pascal, the actor who flew to Cannes last year in economy class, as proof that alternatives exist. "There is no reason others cannot do the same, or take the train when possible," she said.
The environmental group Transport and Environment conducted the investigation that surfaced these numbers. Its aviation director, Jerome du Boucher, frames the crisis as an opportunity. "In a context of climate emergency and fuel shock, it seems absolutely obvious that this kerosene should be reserved for more essential uses at a time when we face fuel scarcity," he said. The group is now pressing European governments to ban private jets outright.
But there is another layer to this story, one that reveals how the wealthy have engineered their own exemptions. According to Transport and Environment, two-thirds of private jets currently escape EU carbon taxes under existing rules. The reason, the group argues, is fear of retaliation from the Trump administration if the EU's Emissions Trading System were expanded to include them. Meanwhile, ordinary airline passengers pay fuel and carbon taxes every time they travel to work. Even some millionaires find this arrangement indefensible. Julia Davies, co-founder of Patriotic Millionaires UK, noted that private jets remain a luxury only the richest can afford—and one they have managed to keep largely untaxed while ordinary people bear the burden.
The math of what could change is striking. If every attendee at the Cannes Film Festival switched to commercial flights, the festival could achieve 40 percent of its 2030 carbon reduction target in a single year. Viaux and others are calling on EU policymakers to close the tax loopholes that allow private aviation to operate in a separate legal universe. "EU decision-makers must not let the Trump administration dictate the rules," Viaux said. The festival itself has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
Notable Quotes
The wealthy and famous burning fuel in short supply to attend a cinema festival is not just insensitive. It is obscene.— Anthony Viaux, retired Air France pilot
In a context of climate emergency and fuel shock, this kerosene should be reserved for more essential uses at a time when we face fuel scarcity.— Jerome du Boucher, Transport and Environment aviation director
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that these were private jets specifically, rather than just any flights to Cannes?
Because private jets are fundamentally inefficient. A commercial flight carries hundreds of people. A private jet carries a handful. The fuel-per-person ratio is catastrophic. And the people using them have the resources to choose differently.
But couldn't someone argue that celebrities have the right to travel however they want?
They do have that right. The question is whether that right should be subsidized by the rest of us through tax exemptions while we face fuel shortages. That is what makes it political, not just personal.
The source mentions Pedro Pascal as an exception. Does that suggest most actors know better but choose not to?
It suggests they know it is possible. Whether they choose not to is a different question—one about convenience, habit, and what their peers do. Pascal proved the alternative exists. The activists are saying: if one person can do it, why not all of them?
What would actually change if the EU banned private jets?
Immediately? The wealthy would find workarounds—charter flights registered elsewhere, for instance. But structurally, it would signal that fuel scarcity is real and that no one is exempt from it. Right now, the tax loopholes say the opposite.
Is this really about the environment, or is it about inequality?
Both. They are inseparable in this case. The environmental harm is real—two million liters burned. But what makes it obscene, as Viaux said, is that it happens while ordinary people ration fuel and face canceled flights. The inequality is the story.