Paris (AFP)

Suspension of their candidate in Montpellier, division in Marseille, disagreements for Paris: internal friction is increasing among EELV environmentalists, at the risk of damaging the green wave that they hope to see break out in the municipal elections in March.

A municipal candidate suspended by the national leadership, this is rare at EELV, whose statutes give the bonus to local activists. The fact that this candidate is at the top of the voting intentions in a recent poll adds to the explosion caused by the disgrace of Clothilde Ollier.

The national secretary of EELV Julien Bayou hastened, Sunday, to give the reasons for this decision of the executive office of the day before, after attempt at mediation. "The head of the list had turned its back on all commitments vis-à-vis the collective, including on flagship environmental proposals (diesel, place of the car in town, air quality ...)", a he said, adding that "there were almost no more environmental candidates on the list".

Alain Coulombel, spokesperson from the left wing of EELV, explains to AFP: "The strategy adopted was to present a list of environmentalists' autonomy, but (Clothilde Ollier) gradually integrated Confluences, a movement rather of La France rebellious, without the opinion of the collective of activists ".

"She landed her campaign buddy with a press release", which is contrary to "the spirit of responsibility", abounds Sandra Regol, assistant national secretary, who was part of the mediation team in this case.

"We were not going to let the situation fall apart, that Montpellier is a form of weight that weakens all other campaigns", she continues, proof that for EELV, the impact of such episodes goes beyond the local level alone.

Clothilde Ollier intends to maintain his list and asked for "explanations" on Monday evening in front of his supporters in Montpellier, denouncing "tampering with another age" which "discredits politics". Local activists must decide on a possible new head of the list on February 3.

But "the current ups and downs will weaken all parties concerned," said Alain Coulombel. "When you have positive polls and a real opportunity to win, what a waste!"

- "Government Party" -

Montpellier and EELV, it's decidedly complicated. The designation of Clothilde Ollier, in October, had already been stormy: her adversary Jean-Louis Roumégas, denouncing a "cheating", decided to assemble a dissident list.

"The difficult decision (of the weekend) must lead to reconciliation" with the former EELV deputy, confides MEP Yannick Jadot to AFP.

"It's ridiculous over," sighs a former party deputy, for whom "EELV and its political staff are not up to the challenge". He questions: "Why sanction Clothilde Ollier and not David Belliard who reaches out to Villani" in Paris, an initiative that has disoriented the militants and dissatisfied even Julien Bayou?

The situation is just as confused in Marseille. The official leader, Sébastien Barles, left the Marseilles Spring last fall, a gathering of left forces, judging that the designation of the head of the list was too slow. In January, socialist officials and rebellious France du Printemps chose to give up the top of the list to apply for ... an ecologist, the highly respected and established Michèle Rubirola.

In a recent poll, the two lists, neck and neck, are far from being able to compete with the right and the National Rally. And in the opinion of several EELV officials at the national level, it is probably too late for a union, a few weeks before the election.

According to the former EELV deputy, the party must take the recent alerts seriously because if in several big cities, the polls are good, "it is the ecology which carries EELV, not the reverse".

Yannick Jadot does not panic. The Montpellier case thus shows that "EELV is a government party which is organizing for the conquest of power and is placed at the heart of political recomposition".

© 2020 AFP