Barbara Pompili, Minister of Ecological Transition, here alongside Prime Minister Jean Castex, August 22, 2020. -

AFP

The LPO (League for the protection of birds), the FNE (France Nature environment) and Friends of the Earth on Tuesday denounced "a certain contempt" of the government towards environmental NGOs and setbacks in terms of environmental protection, the the latest on exemptions from the ban on neonicotinoids.

These three associations have decided not to attend a videoconference Tuesday morning by the National Council for Ecological Transition (CNTE), where the bill on these exemptions was presented.

They will not attend a meeting in the afternoon with representatives of the Citizen's Climate Convention.

"A systematic unraveling of environmental law"

"If we are boycotting today, it is because there is more and more regression in environmental matters and that the general public is not necessarily aware of it", explained Arnaud Schwartz, president of France Nature Environnement (FNE), during a press conference.

“The government is very strong in communication to highlight the slightest small step forward, while at the same time there is a whole lot of destruction, pollution that continues.

Worse than that, there is a systematic unraveling of environmental law, ”he criticized.

The NGOs deplored not being sufficiently listened to by the government.

"There is a certain contempt for community life," said Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the LPO, who calls for "more dialogue".

The boycott of the meeting on Tuesday is "an alert with regard to the Elysee Palace," he continued.

The fear of a weakening of the proposals of the Citizens' Convention

These NGOs are also worried that the proposals of the Citizens' Convention, three of which have already been rejected by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, are weakened when they must lead to a bill in the fall.

"We fear that there will be an attempt to water down and rewrite the proposals and precisely the NGOs are excluded from this process" unlike parliamentarians, communities and businesses, regretted Alma Dufour of Friends of the Earth.

WWF France has chosen to attend the CNTE meeting on Tuesday morning, along with other NGOs.

WWF "stands in solidarity with the NGOs who have decided not to be around the table", while choosing to "make our voice heard", Pierre Cannet told AFP.

"There is a call to the government to reinvest this field of dialogue (the CNTE) with the NGOs", he added.

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