France: the Assembly adopts the criticized bill on the climate
The French National Assembly adopted on Tuesday in first reading a bill on the climate wanted by President Emmanuel Macron.
AP - Gonzalo Fuentes
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
At the end of weeks of passionate debates, the French National Assembly adopted Tuesday, May 4 in first reading a bill on the climate wanted by President Emmanuel Macron, despite strong criticism from the left and environmentalists on its "
inadequacies
" facing the “
climate emergency
”.
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The text was the subject of more than 110 hours of discussions in the lower house of the French Parliament for three weeks until mid-April.
Adopted by 332 votes against 77, and 145 abstentions, it will be submitted to the Senate in June.
"
The ecological fight is never over but with this law we mark a turning point
", rejoiced the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili after the election.
Inspired by the work of the Citizen's Convention for the Climate (CCC) wanted by Emmanuel Macron, the government project includes a battery of measures, such as the elimination of certain domestic airlines in the event of alternatives of less than 2:30 by train, the creation of '' an offense of ecocide, the introduction of a premium for the purchase of electric bicycles or the ban on the rental of housing considered to be “
thermal strainers
” from 2028.
► To read also:
France: the Climate bill put to the test of the Assembly
Despite "
some progress
", NGOs such as Greenpeace and the Climate Action Network have denounced a "
formidable mess
" with a "
bill to pretend to act
".
Smoke in hand and padlock around the neck, a dozen activists from Extinction Rebellion chained themselves to the gates of the Palais Bourbon on Tuesday, denouncing a "
indigent
"
text
.
In the hemicycle, the left regretted a “
stack of anecdotal measures
” (Hubert Wulfranc, Communist Party), “
not up to the
climate
emergency
” according to ecologist Delphine Batho.
Conversely, the right, which has mostly chosen abstention, has stepped up to the plate against a “
punitive ecology
” and “
taxation
”, promising the defense of a “
positive ecology
” during the presidential election of 2022.
► Also to listen: Sandra Regol (EELV) on the Climate bill: “The announcements are symbolic”
"Acceptance of the population"
Marked by the crisis of "yellow vests", which set France ablaze for nearly a year between the end of 2018 and the end of 2019, between occupations of roundabouts and sometimes violent demonstrations against social and fiscal policy, and which was born out of a carbon tax on fuels, the majority insisted on the “
crest line
” between “
ecological ambition
” and “
social acceptability
”. This social movement "
reminded us how the acceptance of the population in the transition was crucial and did not go without saying
", said Marie Lebec (LREM) in the hemicycle.
The government has also been cautious about road transport, a sector very hostile to the text. At the end of February, the High Council for the climate, an independent body, had pointed out "the
reduced scope
" of certain measures, with regard to the objectives of reduction of greenhouse gases. The European Union has also just strengthened its ambitions in 2030, to reduce emissions by 55% compared to 1990. "
It is not this bill alone
" which makes it possible to achieve the objectives on the French side (reduction 40% between 1990 and 2030 at this stage), but “
the sum
” of the measures of several laws, and the “
30 billion of the greening axis of the recovery plan
”, qualifies the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The abolition of certain domestic airlines, between Paris and Nantes, Bordeaux or Lyon, animates the debates.
Although it endorses decisions already taken with Air France, the provision has been contested by a handful of deputies from all sides, mainly elected from the South West, where Airbus and its subcontractors irrigate economic activity.
(With
AFP
)
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