nuclear power, thermal cars, pesticides… What are the measures of the main parties in terms of the environment?

Before the legislative elections, franceinfo takes stock of the main measures put forward in this campaign. In terms of the environment, the National Rally, the presidential majority and the left union each display their priorities.

Until the first round of the legislative elections, franceinfo details the programs of the main parties in the running and focuses on the environmental issue on Thursday June 20.

Could the environment be the big forgotten part of this campaign? It’s not easy to establish everyone’s positions. We often have to be content with a few sentences in interviews or small paragraphs in a profession of faith. Only the New Popular Front insists on its environmental measures and promises a law “climate energy”. Objective: carbon neutrality in 2050 with the acceleration of renewable energies or full coverage of insulation work for low-income households.

On nuclear power, on the other hand, not a word. The subject divides to the left. Seeming clarification Thursday morning by Éric Coquerel, rebellious MP: the New Popular Front will not call into question French nuclear policy until the next presidential election. In the other groups, the question is settled: new centers are needed according to Les Républicains, the National Rally and Emmanuel Macron’s camp.

The head of state says little about the environment. No major announcement – except to stay the course during its January press conference -, and nothing since the announcement of the dissolution. The Prime Minister raised the subject on Thursday morning. The ecological transition is a “existential challenge”, said Gabriel Attal. The head of government is aiming for a 20% reduction in French emissions by 2027. He also promises to renovate 300,000 homes within three years thanks to a tax on share buybacks. It is also committed to doubling the number of electric vehicles in social leasing to reach 100,000 rentals per year.

Cars, in fact, have become a symbol on the right of the political spectrum. The Republicans are against the ban on the sale of new thermal cars from 2035, as decided by the 27.

Same position of the National Rally, moreover opposed to any constraints in the face of climate change. The leaders of the RN regularly denounce a “punitive ecology”, ranging from low emission zones to environmental standards. The New Popular Front is attacking two other symbols. He promises a moratorium on megabasins and on new motorway projects, including the A69 between Toulouse and Castres.

To stop the collapse of biodiversity, the union of the left is committed to defending natural and wetlands, doubling the protection of protected maritime areas, and banning neonicotinoids, these pesticides nicknamed “bee killers”. In the presidential camp, note the government’s support for the European law on “nature restoration” to restore 20% of land and sea areas by 2030. On the Republican side, this short sentence in their profession of faith: “We will trust those on the ground to preserve biodiversity”. As for the National Rally, this question is not addressed by Jordan Bardella in his recent interview with Parisian where he details his priorities.