Assembly holds palm oil among biofuels, second vote in sight

Pollution vote on palm oil in the National Assembly. The Chamber voted on Thursday, November 14, the postponement to 2026 of the exclusion of palm oil from the list of biofuels, which enjoy a tax advantage. This measure is favorable to the oil group Total for its new biorefinery La Mède, near Marseille, but arouses the indignation of environmental associations.

Last year, however, MEPs adopted the release of palm oil from biofuels as of 1 January 2020. Some of them demand that there be a new vote after Thursday's vote.

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Prime Minister Édouard Philippe also voted in favor of a new vote on Friday, "noting the lack of sufficient debate on such an important issue," according to Matignon. The second deliberation "will allow the parliamentarians to feed a debate at the height of the stake," explained the entourage of the head of government.

An amendment co-signed by elected officials of Bouches-du-Rhône

Thursday, "the amendment passed in two seconds (22 seconds, Editor's note)" with "adverse opinion of the general rapporteur, favorable to the government, without any debate! It is a mistake to catch up on second reading," said the "walker "Bénédicte Peyrol on Twitter.

"Many did not even know what it was about," says another MEP LREM.

"We got fucked! (...) If the group asks me, I will ask a second deliberation," reacted to the AFP Joel Giraud (LREM) in the night from Thursday to Friday.

The images of the vote of the amendment that extends the tax advantage of biofuels based on # huiledepalme, adopted in a few seconds without real debate. >> https://t.co/rchJpqZJyG # PLF2020 #DirectAN pic.twitter. com / pM1Op39LuT

The LREM deputy and candidate for the mayor of Paris, Cédric Villani, lamented that the majority sends so "contradictory signals" on the environmental theme. However, "it is a duty to have a clear and firm attitude towards these major ecological issues," he urged.

The voted amendment is co-signed by MoDem, LREM and LR elected representatives from Bouches-du-Rhône, where the refinery is located. It was not debated at the meeting.

"A stab in the local development of biofuels"

At the MoDem, Bruno Millienne, who had carried the release of palm oil biofuels last year, says "disgusted", especially since the amendment is co-signed by his colleague Mohamed Laqhila. The centrist group stresses that Thursday's vote "is not a group amendment but an individual amendment".

In Libertés et Territoires, Matthieu Orphelin, close to Nicolas Hulot, "demands a new deliberation, a retreat would be unacceptable".

! ️ Lamentable (and silly) retreat to # PLF2020 on the # huiledepalme, which regains its tax benefits withdrawn last year. Imported #deforestation is a scourge, do not go back! A nice win for @Total who can slash champagne tonight. Ashamed! #lobby pic.twitter.com/kTSKJJiSqz

For the president (ex-LR) Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, "it's a stab at the local development of biofuels! Other solutions exist and are not responsible for ecological disasters!".

The La Mède refinery, one of the largest in Europe, started in early July, directly employing 250 people. According to Total, it has to process 650,000 tonnes of oils and fats per year and source "sustainable and certified" palm oil up to 300,000 tonnes.

With AFP