Far-right asks French government to ‘give up the Green Deal’

In an interview on RMC on Monday, Jordan Bardella, head of the Rassemblement National list for the European elections, said he expected Gabriel Attal’s government to give “up the Green Deal”, proof for the opposition that the party is climate sceptical.

For a few days, smoke from angry farmers’ tractors all around Europe signalled an opportunity for Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National (RN) and head of the party’s list for the European elections, to reiterate the RN’s opposition to the European Green Deal.

Interviewed on RMC on Monday morning, Bardella said, “I expect Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to renounce the Green Deal”.

Never before had the leader of the far-right party made such a strong demand. Previously, the RN supported the “regulatory pause” called for by President Emmanuel Macron and then the moratorium called for by the European People’s Party (EPP) – on which the elected representatives of Les républicains (LR) sit in the European Parliament – and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

In practice, this means at least “denouncing” the texts of the Green Deal that have already been adopted and getting the government to “publicly acknowledge the mistakes it has made”, Jean-Paul Garraud, chairman of the RN delegation to the European Parliament, told Euractiv France on Monday.

“And obviously not to vote on the forthcoming texts,” he added.

“90% of the problem is in Brussels”, said Bardella, pretending that the government cannot do much to improve the situation of farmers from Paris.

Is the Green Deal in trouble?

Once again, the Green Deal is at the heart of crucial European elections.

“I think, and these will be my two major issues in the European elections, that there are two major threats hanging over France today that are being decided in Brussels: the migration pact […] and the Green Deal, which is creating the conditions for a decline in Europe”, said Bardella.

On the other side of the political divide, criticism is pouring in.

“It’s often in times of crisis that the far right reveals its true colours”, Marie Toussaint, head of the Europe Écologie – Les Verts (EELV) list for the European elections, told Euractiv France.

“The reality is that they are the enemies of farmers, the enemies of Europe and the enemies of nature. Their lies and double talk are blatant”, said the French MEP.

The same was true of Renew.

“Jordan Bardella has been explaining for weeks that he leads the most ecologically-minded party in France. Today, he is calling for the greatest political project in our history in favour of the climate to be abandoned”, Valérie Hayer, the new leader of the Renew group in the European Parliament, told Euractiv France.

For Pascal Canfin, French MEP (Renew) and Chairman of the Environment Committee, “Jordan Bardella simply shows the true nature of the RN: a climate sceptical party”.

However, Garraud defended himself: “That no longer exists in the RN”. Nevertheless, the green pact remains a “series of measures that misses its target and accelerates Europe’s exit from history”, said Alexandre Loubet, RN campaign director for the European elections, speaking at an event organised by Euractiv France at the end of November.

The anger currently expressed by farmers is, therefore, providing a pretext against the Green Deal for the far-right parties, racing ahead in the opinion polls.

In the latest polls, the RN is now credited with 31% of voting intentions.

At European level, the group that brings together the RN’s allies, Identity and Democracy (ID), could well become the third largest group in the European Parliament, taking over 90 seats (20 more than in 2019).

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, could take as many and become the fourth largest force in the Parliament. However, ECR is also showing serious signs of reluctance concerning the Green Deal.

(Paul Messad | Euractiv.fr)