• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Berlin keynote was interrupted by Greenpeace protesters onstage.
• Huang was making the case for Europe to build an AI economy with factories and agents.
• His finale featured a wobbly Microduck robot demo and an AI-generated Eurovision-style video.

Even for a seasoned keynote pro like Jensen Huang, there's always the risk that things don't go fully to plan.

The Nvidia CEO opened the company's Berlin conference on Wednesday to make the case that Europe should build its own AI economy — complete with AI factories, autonomous agents, and robots.

But the pitch was interrupted about 20 minutes into the keynote by protesters holding a Greenpeace banner reading, "Nvidia, clean your dirty business!"

One protester shouted: "Clean up your act! What about the technology that was found in Russian drones? Those were Nvidia chips. What are you doing about that? What are you doing about the environmental destruction?"

The protester appeared to be referring to an August statement from Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, which said it had identified an Nvidia Jetson Orin computer module in a Russian S-71 Monochrome cruise missile. The agency did not allege that Nvidia knowingly supplied the component to Russia.

Greenpeace said in a press release that it's calling on Nvidia to extend its 100% renewable energy target across its wider supply chain and to conduct audits to ensure its technology doesn't end up in military equipment. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comments.

As security escorted the protester away, Huang said, "Give her a chance," and that "everybody has a chance to say something." He then told the applauding crowd: "All important issues … but let me get through my keynote."

Huang, after joking that he had to "torture" the audience with "some education" before "the entertainment," then pressed on with Nvidia's pitch for Europe's AI future. He unveiled DSX POD, a modular system for AI factories, and promoted OpenShell, a platform designed to help companies run autonomous AI agents securely.

'Pay attention!'

The entertainment came near the end of the keynote, when Huang brought four small robots, known as Microducks, from French startup Pollen Robotics onstage.

The demo was charming, but not entirely obedient.

When Huang told the robots to "take a nap," one kept walking before eventually falling alongside the others. Later, only two appeared to perform a somersault when he asked them to.

Another robot lingered farther away from the group and tripped before getting back up. "Pay attention! Stay focused. Come here, come here. Stay focused," Huang told it. It eventually approached and sat down, drawing laughter from the audience.

Huang then closed the event with an AI-generated video of robots singing in a Eurovision-style contest.

The demo came a day after Huang told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Europe could not regulate its way to technological leadership.

"There's nothing to regulate if the industry doesn't thrive," Huang told Merz.

• Rebecca Mac traveled from Manchester, UK, to Paris for a Céline Dion concert in memory of her late mother.
• She said she was caught in traffic near Galeries Lafayette as unrest spread through the city.
• Mac said hotel staff warned her against going outside, saying she was a "perfect candidate" to get mugged.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rebecca Mac, who owns Cosmetic Finance Group, a Manchester, UK-based aesthetics finance company, and Mc Aesthetics, a cosmetic clinic group. It has been edited for length and clarity.

On Saturday, 110 demonstrations drew 550,000 people nationwide, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, including 110,000 in Paris. Organizers put the national total at 800,000.

I went to Paris to see Céline Dion in memory of my mom.

My mom had loved Céline for years. We had tickets to see her before the pandemic in Manchester before she died, but the show was canceled. She never got to see her perform.

Friday's concert was really emotional. "All Coming Back to Me Now" and "I'm Alive" made me emotional, but "My Heart Will Go On" was the one that really made me cry.

Seeing Céline felt like I was finally doing it for my mom. Little did I know, less than 24 hours later, my friend and I would be trapped in an Uber during the Paris riots.

We had no way of getting out

At about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, we left Galeries Lafayette and saw what felt like a sea of people marching toward us. We were like: "Oh my god. This is crazy." We walked away and got an Uber outside Sephora.

Every road the driver tried was closed. He told us to get out, but young men were running past the car, throwing things and banging. We said: "No, we're not getting out of the car in the middle of this."

Then people threw metal barriers into the road so cars could not pass. We were stuck there, panicking. Within seconds, police with riot shields charged in from the other side.

We thought the crowd was coming toward us and that we were trapped in the middle. The taxi stood still for a few minutes. It felt like we had no way of getting out.

The police formed a line in front of the car and cleared the barriers so traffic could move. It took about 20 minutes to get back to Le Damantin Hôtel & Spa, near the Champs-Élysées, where we were staying.

Roads were sectioned off, and police on motorbikes and police vans with sirens kept passing us as we drove away.

It was very stressful. It just felt very surreal and very long. We were just relieved to be back at the hotel and safe.

'Perfect targets to be mugged'

Later that night, hotel staff locked the doors as we were leaving for dinner.

Men in balaclavas were passing outside. A staff member told us: "You cannot go out," and said we looked like "perfect targets to be mugged."

After waiting for about an hour, we decided to take a taxi to the restaurant, which was just around the corner.

But it stopped across the road, where another group of six masked men was standing outside. It was quite intimidating, so we walked around parked cars to avoid getting too close to them.

I wanted to get home

My Sunday flight to Manchester was delayed, so I booked a 9 a.m. flight to London and then an Uber home to Manchester.

I kept thinking about my children. We had been to Paris a couple of years earlier for Disneyland with my little girl, my niece, and my nephew. I thought: Imagine if this had happened then.

I'm so grateful I saw Céline on Friday. It is a memory I will remember forever. But I'm very upset and disappointed because I do like to go to Paris quite a lot.

The whole experience made me lose my love for Paris a bit.

Additional reporting by Amanda Goh.