EDITORIAL. The anti-green positioning of Laurent Wauquiez for the 2027 presidential election

In front of the Young Republicans gathered in Valence, Laurent Wauquiez took a further step towards a presidential candidacy on Sunday October 1st by targeting environmental policies. Laurent Wauquiez proclaimed it: he is “ready”. And, beyond that, it already displays its positioning. He is fed up with the standards and regulations that pile up, and in particular those constraints linked to environmental protection. Laurent Wauquiez also wants his Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region to exit the “zero net artificialization” system, the objective set by law but managed by the regions to limit construction on the territory. He wants that “the State lets the French breathe”. A speech as old as the right. Illustrated by the famous cri du coeur of Georges Pompidou in the 1960s: “We have to stop annoying the French!”

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The anti-ecologist tone is nevertheless more recent. It fits the political zeitgeist. For several years, Laurent Wauquiez has been one of the thermometers of the oscillations of populism in the political debate. For example, he castigated what he called the “assistantship cancer” to denounce certain abuses linked to the RSA. He also denounced “the invasion” burkini on our beaches. This time again, he does not take gloves since he describes the “climate and resilience” law of 2021, the one which wants to stop the concreteization of the territory, as a law “ruralicide”just that !

A text adopted under pressure from environmental defenders which would therefore aim, according to him, to eradicate rurality and its inhabitants. The accusation sparked an outcry from the majority and environmentalists.

A politically promising niche

Why does Laurent Wauquiez adopt this position? Because it is a niche that seems promising in these times of inflation where the French are more worried about their wallets than the environment. One of his competitors within LR, the mayor of Cannes and president of the Association of Mayors of France, David Lisnard, gives a fairly similar speech. In terms of anti-ecological demagoguery, Laurent Wauquiez will especially have a lot to do with competition from Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour. An escalation which should weigh on the European election campaign. It is already delighting populist parties outside our borders, in the Netherlands, Germany and elsewhere. For now, records broken by fuel prices concern voters more than records broken by temperatures.