News
28 Jun 2024, 16:00
Juliette Portala
|
France

Dispatch from France | June 2024

Photo: Mat Napo on Unsplash.

French citizens are awaiting the upcoming snap election brought about by the dissolution of parliament following president Emmanuel Macron’s loss to the far-right in this June’s EU elections. The vote could have a profound impact on the priority attached to climate change by the next government – if at all, that is. Will the president’s camp recover from its defeat last month? Is the new left-wing alliance strong enough to stand in the way of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her penchant for ‘greenblaming’? Who will be named prime minister? Despite Macron’s desire to trigger a “clarification” by calling the French to vote, the snap  election seems to be raising more questions than it could answer, and it could even be detrimental to the EU’s environmental ambitions.

***Our weekly Dispatches provide an overview of the most relevant recent and upcoming developments for the shift to climate neutrality in selected European countries, from policy and diplomacy to society and industry.

For a bird's-eye view of the country's climate-friendly transition, read the respective 'Guide to'.***

Stories to watch in the weeks ahead

The latest from France – last month in recap

Juliette’s picks – highlights from upcoming events and top reads

  • If you have already read the heartbreaking testimony of climate scientists in The Guardian, take the time to read the response of Christiana Figueres, former head of the UN climate change convention and a standard-bearer of “stubborn optimism.”
  • In France, the campaign for the snap election takes place in public as much as online and so far, French far-right leader Jordan Bardella is trouncing the majority – again, AFP journalists write in “How France’s far-right is winning the TikTok battle.”
  • As more than 80 percent of the electricity produced in France depend on the country’s water resources at a time when episodes of drought multiply and dry up the country, Vert reporter Anne-Claire Poirier wonders about the future of power production in the country.
  • There have been misfires in the fight against climate change - and missed opportunities. François Gemenne, for Radio France, invites us to look back on what we could have done yesterday and to learn our lesson to set things right today.
  • Another podcast with Le Monde journalist Nabil Wakim discusses ways to speak about the climate crisis without boring others or giving up on its complexity with Jean-Marc Jancovici, engineer and founder of The Shift Project – among his many hats.
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