Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam on Friday, climbing a crane and setting off flares, while others clashed with police, as opposition to large-scale data centre projects spread across Europe. Dutch police said they detained between 150 and 200 people on suspicion of trespassing.
More than 100 demonstrators entered the site on Plimsollweg in Sloterdijk, in Amsterdam’s western port area, on 6 November, according to a Reuters witness. Activists marched arm in arm, broke in, climbed cranes, hung balloons and danced while police stood by, according to reports. Nathan Timmer of the protest group Geef Tegengas, meaning “Push Back”, told local broadcaster AT5 that demonstrators had occupied the site to prevent construction from continuing.
The Amsterdam protest was the opening event of a two-day “Stop Dirty Data Centres” campaign, involving dozens of grassroots and civil society organisations in 15 or 16 European countries, including Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom. Organisers said they planned 85 actions across the continent, demanding a halt to large-scale data centre developments over concerns about their heavy consumption of electricity and water and their environmental and social impacts.
Numbers that do not agree
Reports differ on how many people took part. A Reuters witness counted about 100 activists on the site, while a spokesperson for Geef Tegengas told AT5 that around 500 people had entered it. Dutch police put the number of detainees at 150 to 200, an estimate rather than a final count. Detention on suspicion of trespassing is not a charge, and no charges have been reported.
One officer suffered minor injuries, according to reports, while activists alleged officers used excessive force, including tear gas. Microsoft said it respected people’s right to peaceful protest but opposed unlawful activities that endangered public safety. The developer, Pure Data Centres, is building the facility, which Microsoft will use as its only tenant, according to reports. The project, involving three towers of about 85 metres each, is reported to be worth more than $1 billion.
A backlash against AI infrastructure
The protest lands as Microsoft’s data centre build-out has accelerated sharply, and as opposition to the energy and water demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure grows across Europe. The Stop Dirty Data Centres coalition, which includes more than 100 environmental groups and digital rights campaigns, is demanding an immediate moratorium on large-scale AI data centre construction until governments set clearer rules.
Microsoft has not said whether the Amsterdam incident will affect the Sloterdijk project’s timeline. Geef Tegengas previously blockaded an entrance to the same site in June 2026. Microsoft shares showed no unusual move around the incident, closing 0.43% lower over 24 hours at $531.24, according to market reports.
