Copenhagen Police detained two people on Thursday during an unannounced protest outside FLSmidth’s office at Havneholmen in Copenhagen. A second unannounced demonstration took place at Maersk’s headquarters on Esplanaden, where no detentions were reported.
Officers responded to both protests on August 20, 2026, Avisen Danmark reports, citing Ritzau. At Havneholmen, police directed the demonstrators to a different location where the protest could be held. Two people did not follow those instructions and were detained, according to the police.
Copenhagen Police described the intervention in a message on their Politi Update channel at 12:37 p.m. the same day. Per the police, the demonstrators at Havneholmen had been assigned a place to hold their protest, and officers remained in dialogue with the leader of the demonstration. The message stated that the two detained people had refused to comply with police directions.
Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse issued a press release about the Havneholmen action on Thursday. The group said activists from the movement and other European climate and Palestine movements were blocking FLSmidth‘s headquarters, and that police were massively present at the site.
In its press material, the movement said hundreds of European climate and Palestine activists have been in Denmark in recent weeks. According to the group, the aim is to protest what it calls Danish companies’ roles in some of the world’s most destructive global supply chains. The press release distributed via Ritzau presents the FLSmidth action as part of a campaign called “Bryd kæden”, or “Break the chain”.
Demand aimed at FLSmidth
As stated in that press material, the campaign demands that FLSmidth publish its customer list. The group argues that the company’s technologies are tied to problematic global supply chains. FLSmidth is a global engineering and technology company that previously supplied equipment, service, and solutions to both the cement and mining industries.
The company sold off its cement business in the summer of 2025, so it can concentrate solely on the mining industry. Avisen Danmark notes this change in its account of the protest. The activists took up positions at the company’s Copenhagen site with a message directed at its management.
The second unannounced demonstration on Thursday took place at Maersk‘s headquarters on Esplanaden. Police also entered into dialogue with the leader of that demonstration. There were no immediate reports of anyone being detained at that location.
A summary of the events carried by dknyt, based on the same Ritzau wire, repeats that two people were detained at Havneholmen after refusing to move to the designated demonstration area. It also repeats that the Maersk protest was handled through dialogue only.
