The environmentalist deputy Matthieu Orphelin presented a bill entitled "Evin Climat Law" aimed at banning the advertising of certain polluting brands.

It would be a question of gradually banning campaigns for brands of gasoline or diesel cars or for airlines.

Nicolas Barré takes stock of a current economic issue.

This is the start of the fight in the advertising world.

More and more voices are indeed rising to ban it on a whole list of products.

"Prohibit", many environmentalists have only this word in mouth at the moment.

Ban air travel, ban gasoline cars, ban bank loans to sectors that emit too much CO2 etc.

Behind these prohibitions, there is the hope of less growth, even the decline idealized by some.

Hope, because at the end of the day, less growth means less greenhouse gas emissions.

In short, we must ban to protect the planet.

CQFD.

And therefore, in the list, prohibit anything that encourages consumption.

That is, advertising.

Yes, it is logical and it is the object of the bill of the environmentalist deputy Matthieu Orphelin, a text nicknamed "Evin Climate law".

The Evin law dates back 30 years and already aimed to ban tobacco advertising and limit alcohol advertising.

But here, with this text inspired by the citizens' convention on the climate, we would go much further since it would be a question of gradually banning campaigns for brands of gasoline or diesel cars or for airlines.

And generally to ban ads for all the most polluting products.

It would be an economic earthquake since the automobile alone represents 3.5 billion euros of advertising investment.

Behind it, the entire already fragile economy of the media would be compromised.

The Minister for Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, is also preparing a law on the subject.

Yes, with the same philosophy of prohibition which poses a double problem.

First, it's infantilizing.

After all, everyone is able to judge the impact of their consumption on the environment, consumers are adults and more and more attentive to the subject.

For example, sales of diesel cars have been declining for several years without the need to ban advertising.

Advertising also helps to guide choices towards less polluting vehicles.

Second problem, there has been no impact study to assess the economic consequences of such prohibition measures.

The advertising sector has tens of thousands of jobs and world-class French champions like Publicis or Havas.

The Covid crisis has flattened the sector and more broadly that of the media.

No need for an additional blow of the club ...