MOSCOW: Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has responded with wry humor on Twitter to patronizing comments made about her by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 16-year-old changed her Twitter biography to say “A kind but poorly informed teenager” after Putin described her in these terms at a Moscow forum this week.
On Wednesday, Putin said: “I don’t share the general enthusiasm” for Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech at the United Nations climate summit in September, which went viral with her repeated question: “How dare you?”
“I’m sure Greta is a kind girl and very sincere,” Putin said of the campaigner who sailed across the Atlantic instead of flying to speak at the UN.
However, “no one explained” to Thunberg, who has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, that “the modern world is developing quickly,” he lamented.
Putin said it was praiseworthy for young people to raise environmental issues, but raised the possibility that someone was manipulating Thunberg “in their own interests.”
He warned “adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations.”
US President Donald Trump also attempted to crush Thunberg, only for her to use his own words against him.
After her speech at the UN, Trump mocked her tone on Twitter, saying she “seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
Thunberg later changed her Twitter biography to read: “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
Thunberg has been tipped as a possible winner of this year Nobel Peace Prize.
![]()
Greta Thunberg mocks Putin’s ‘kind girl’ jibes on Twitter
Greta Thunberg mocks Putin’s ‘kind girl’ jibes on Twitter
- Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has 2.7 million followers on Twitter
- ‘Adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations’
Police in France detain 9 people in suspected massive Louvre ticket fraud scheme
- Prosecutors also mentioned similar suspicions regarding a ticket fraud at the Palace of Versailles, without providing details
- The museum had filed a complaint in December 2024. Investigators found tour guides repeatedly reuse the same tickets for different visitors
PARIS: The Paris prosecutors office on Thursday said that nine people were being detained as part of an investigation into a suspected decade-long, 10 million euro ($11.8 million) ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum.
The arrests took place on Tuesday as part of a judicial investigation opened after the Louvre filed a complaint in December 2024, the prosecutors’ office said.
The loss for the museum over the past decade is estimated to exceed 10 million euros ($11.8 million), it said.
Those detained include two Louvre employees, several tour guides and one person suspected of being the mastermind, according to the prosecutors’ office.
The museum alerted investigators about the frequent presence of two Chinese tour guides suspected of bringing groups of Chinese tourists into the museum by fraudulently reusing the same tickets multiple times for different visitors. Other guides were later suspected of similar practices.
The prosecutors’ office said surveillance and wiretaps confirmed repeated ticket reuse and an apparent strategy of splitting up tour groups to avoid paying the required “speaking fee” imposed on guides. The investigation also pointed to suspected accomplices within the Louvre, with guides allegedly paying them cash in exchange for avoiding ticket checks, it said.
A formal judicial investigation was opened in June last year on charges including organized fraud, money laundering, corruption, aiding illegal entry in the country as part of an organized group, and the use of forged administrative documents.
Investigators believe the network may have brought in up to 20 tour groups a day over the past decade.
Suspects are believed to have invested some of the money in real estate in France and Dubai. Authorities have seized more than 957,000 euros ($1.13 million) in cash, including 67,000 euros ($79,459) in foreign currency, as well as 486,000 euros ($576,374) from bank accounts.
The prosecutors’ office mentioned a similar ticket fraud is also suspected to have taken place at the Palace of Versailles, without providing further details.
In October, the crown jewels robbery at the Louvre draw worldwide attention to the museum, after a team of four people broke in through a window during visiting hours and fled with an estimated 88 million euros ($104 million) worth of treasures. Authorities have arrested several suspects in that case, but the stolen items remain missing.
The arrests took place on Tuesday as part of a judicial investigation opened after the Louvre filed a complaint in December 2024, the prosecutors’ office said.
The loss for the museum over the past decade is estimated to exceed 10 million euros ($11.8 million), it said.
Those detained include two Louvre employees, several tour guides and one person suspected of being the mastermind, according to the prosecutors’ office.
The museum alerted investigators about the frequent presence of two Chinese tour guides suspected of bringing groups of Chinese tourists into the museum by fraudulently reusing the same tickets multiple times for different visitors. Other guides were later suspected of similar practices.
The prosecutors’ office said surveillance and wiretaps confirmed repeated ticket reuse and an apparent strategy of splitting up tour groups to avoid paying the required “speaking fee” imposed on guides. The investigation also pointed to suspected accomplices within the Louvre, with guides allegedly paying them cash in exchange for avoiding ticket checks, it said.
A formal judicial investigation was opened in June last year on charges including organized fraud, money laundering, corruption, aiding illegal entry in the country as part of an organized group, and the use of forged administrative documents.
Investigators believe the network may have brought in up to 20 tour groups a day over the past decade.
Suspects are believed to have invested some of the money in real estate in France and Dubai. Authorities have seized more than 957,000 euros ($1.13 million) in cash, including 67,000 euros ($79,459) in foreign currency, as well as 486,000 euros ($576,374) from bank accounts.
The prosecutors’ office mentioned a similar ticket fraud is also suspected to have taken place at the Palace of Versailles, without providing further details.
In October, the crown jewels robbery at the Louvre draw worldwide attention to the museum, after a team of four people broke in through a window during visiting hours and fled with an estimated 88 million euros ($104 million) worth of treasures. Authorities have arrested several suspects in that case, but the stolen items remain missing.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.