It is the new green face of government. Christophe Béchu, ephemeral Minister Delegate for Local Authorities, was appointed, Monday, July 4, Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, replacing Amélie de Montchalin, defeated in the legislative elections. Before entering government, the 48-year-old elected official was hitherto known to be the mayor of Angers, the prefecture of Maine-et-Loire.
In the city of Angevin, this appointment arouses contrasting reactions from elected environmentalists and activists. “On the right, Christophe Béchu is surely one of those who are most sensitive to the ecological subject”analyzes Matthieu Orphelin, former LREM deputy then ecologist of the city. “Angers is often at the top of city rankings on the environment. There is a real tradition. But the city is not yet at the maximum of what it could do”. The future leader of the Bird Protection League sees a “asset” in the profile of the new minister, his knowledge of the territories, when his predecessor came from the private sector.
Activist of the association Safeguarding Anjou for 24 years, Florence Denier-Pasquier knew Christophe Béchu well as president of the department (in 2004) then mayor of Angers from 2014. “You would have asked me the question two years ago, I would have answered you that ecology and him, it was complicated”explains the one who is now national secretary of France Nature Environnement. “But, since the start of his second term, he has given strong signals, with for example the foundations of the ecological transition”.
Florence Denier-Pasquier recognizes Christophe Béchu’s ability to reach compromises but points to sometimes contradictory positions, such as on the automobile: “As president of the county council, he said no to the southern ring road project. But when he was elected mayor, he made the first hour of parking free”. In short, for her, the new minister is “in ecological learning”.
Elected from the opposition on the Angers ecological and solidarity list, Yves Aurégan holds a more decided speech. “It made me laugh a lot (yellow) when I learned about it. Ecology and him are two separate worlds. Four years ago, he made fun of environmentalists”, analyzes the CNRS researcher. For him, Christophe Béchu has no “no environmental conviction”but is “converted because he felt the wind turn” with the growing interest of its constituents in these questions. Yves Auregan criticizes it, for example, for a policy that is very favorable to the car, a major source of greenhouse gases, or even for defending a “technology-based, so-called green growth ecology line”.
“I think this nomination is bad news for ecology.”
Yves Aurégan, opposing EELV to the town hall of Angersat franceinfo
The new minister will be judged above all on his actions. “What I hope for are strong measures on energy renovation, hunting, transport and investments in the coming weeks to show that Emmanuel Macron’s commitments are not just words”, explains Matthieu Orphelin. In Marseille, during the in-between rounds of the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron had launched: “The policy that I will pursue in the next five years will be ecological, or it will not be”.