INTERVIEW
Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish environmental activist, will address the National Assembly on Tuesday at the invitation of the collective Accelerates the ecological and solidarity transition. But the arrival of the teenager is far from unanimous among elected officials, some of whom, especially in the ranks of Republicans, denounce a communication operation based on the incredible popularity of the girl.
"Greta Thunberg carries the voice of the youth who is worried about her future", wanted to defend at the microphone of Pierre de Vilno, on Europe 1, Alicia Arquetoux, speaker at the National Assembly and member of the movement Youth for climate. For this 17-year-old activist, the media coverage of Greta Thunberg makes it possible to make a voice heard about the climate emergency that is not listened to enough when it is only worn by scientists. "It's been a while since scientists sound the alarm, but we do not listen to them, they do not have a voice, that's why Greta is here," she argues.
The scientific arguments eclipsed by the buzz?
Some MPs, even in the ranks of the majority, fear however that the intervention of Greta Thunberg overshadows the scientific discourse in favor of the buzz surrounding the teenager. "Could we place the spotlight on scientists, people who have been acting for the planet for years, using the Manichaeism of Good for Evil is far too simple to act in a complex world," said LREM Bénédicte Peyrol. "The problem is that imminent people, the great leaders of NGOs, often come to the National Assembly and we do not listen anymore," says Alicia Arquetoux.
"Greta Thunberg has a certain media influence with people, especially because it marks a child of 16," she says. "She has a strength in terms of eloquence."
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The young activist attacked, particularly on her autism
"Apocalyptic guru", "prophetess in short panties" ... the opponents of the arrival of Greta Thunberg did not spare their qualifiers. The surgeon Laurent Alexandre, founder of the site Doctissimo, also pointed in a tweet the health problems of the girl, diagnosed as spraying. "I would not like to have severe OCD, childhood depression, selective mutism, Asperger's with monoideation and serious eating disorders leading me to be tiny! I respect the sick child but regret his handling," he said. he posted.
"I do not understand to what extent we can treat a human being like that, given the derogatory and derogatory remarks that it can receive, especially on the fact that it is autistic sprinkle," laments Alicia Arquetoux, still on Europe 1. "I do not see how it fits in with the cause, I want to tell them to stop focusing on form, but focus on the substance."