“We are still looking for the ecologists in the government. It’s clear that it doesn’t bode anything particularly exciting.“, reacted this Friday on franceinfo Jean-François Julliard, director general of Greenpeace, after the appointment of Amélie de Montchalin and Agnès Pannier-Runacher respectively Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and Minister for Energy Transition.
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Amélie de Montchalin and Agnès Pannier-Runacher were previously Minister of Transformation and the Civil Service and Minister of Industry in the outgoing government of Jean Castex. “They are rather in the mold of what we have seen from previous governments far from being up to the task on climate issues.“
franceinfo: Two ministers in the government to deal with ecology. Is that likely to give you hope?
Jean-Francois Julliard: No like that, I would say no, without knowing them. Neither one, I have never met them. I never had the opportunity to hear them talk about environmental issues. So, we’ll see, we’ll wait, we’ll judge on documents, we’ll see what actions are taken. But it is true that we are less surprised. We are still looking for the ecologists in the government. It is clear that this does not bode particularly exciting.
Do you doubt a priori their involvement in the files they will have to deal with?
No, once again, I’m not going to sue. I will wait to meet them, to see what their values are, their priorities. But so far, it is not the people who have shown a particular enthusiasm or a particular vision for the transformation of a society towards more ecology. They are more in the mold of what we have seen from previous governments, which was not good, which was far from up to par on climate and environmental issues.
Two ministries that makes twice as many interlocutors and can be twice as much listening?
We hope it will have at least that advantage. In the same way that it has been said that the fact that Elisabeth Borne takes hold of these subjects on paper is that ecology seems to have gained more weight. Now, once again, we will see the concrete actions. However, all these people come from macronie, are clearly in this model which, until then, has not proven its ability to ensure that society is more ecological and more respectful of the agreement of Paris, of which Emmanuel Macron became the great defender 5 years ago now.