French Green candidate says agricultural transition will be a priority

Yannick Jadot, who narrowly won the Green party primaries on 28 October, presented his programme ahead of the presidential elections in April 2022 in an interview with the weekly Journal du Dimanche.

If he were to become president, Jadot said he would prioritise the agricultural transition.

“From my first day, I will start the exit of industrial breeding. We must (…) reinstall farmers in the countryside with decent incomes. This will enable us to achieve another objective: to fight against junk food, and therefore against chronic diseases and obesity”, he said.

Regarding the economy, Jadot plans to implement an investment plan to “repair our society”, with an investment of €50 billion each year. The funds will be divided between reconstruction, housing and construction, and improving public services, with the aim of “creating 1.5 million jobs, reviving the economy, and starting a virtuous circle of investment and responsible consumption,” he said.

The Green candidate also announced that he wanted to fight the lobbies that “corrupt the French economy and suck up subsidies and public policies”.

“Every euro of public money will be made conditional on the protection of the environment,” he said, adding that French oil giant Total would not be receiving any public money if they continue searching “for more oil and more gas in the subsoil,” he said.

The Green candidate also wants to reintroduce the wealth tax and create a climate wealth tax.

Jadot is currently polling between 6 and 9%.

(Clara Bauer-Babef | EURACTIV.fr)