Ecological Policies in France Face Significant Budget Cuts and Public Backlash
France's upcoming vote on a new energy law signals deeper cuts and backlash against ecological policies.
Key Points
- • France's ecology budget cut by 14% for 2025 under new government policy.
- • New energy law vote faces opposition to moratorium on renewable projects.
- • 140 NGOs criticize EU's agricultural policy changes affecting ecology.
- • Public backlash against perceived punitive ecological measures grows.
The French National Assembly is poised to vote on a new energy programming law on June 24, 2025, amidst a notable retreat in ecological policies throughout France and Europe. The proposed legislation includes a moratorium on new wind and solar projects and a rollback of significant environmental protections like the 'zero net artificialization' policy. This retreat is underscored by a substantial 14% cut to the ecology budget in the 2025 financial law introduced under the Bayrou government, a move mirroring broader shifts in European policy where environmental regulations for agricultural subsidies are being relaxed.
Criticism of these changes is intensifying, with over 140 NGOs, including Greenpeace and Oxfam, opposing the European Union's new agricultural policies for undermining the ambitious goals of the Green New Deal, promoted by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The rural and agricultural sectors are particularly vocal about their discontent, viewing the ecological constraints imposed upon them as punitive.
Political scientist Michel Crespy has highlighted that the framing of ecological measures has contributed to a negative public perception, particularly among rural populations and the working class, echoing sentiments from past movements like the 'gilets jaunes'. As the upcoming elections, including the significant June 2024 European elections, loom, ecological parties are bracing for a potential decline in support, reflecting an apparent shift in public sentiment against stringent ecological policies.