About: gilets jaunes
Green transition ‘has to happen locally’, EU Commission says
The green transition needs to happen at a local level, with citizens engaged in climate activism and policy, the European Commission said at the launch of the Climate Pact on Wednesday (16 December).
EU carbon border tax cheaper and fairer than French energy levy, says report
The European Commission's carbon border tax proposal would have a small impact on French households, unlike the country's own proposal to tax energy which prompted the birth of the 'gilets jaunes' movement. EURACTIV France reports.
Government’s handling of pension strikes threatens France’s EU credibility
The French government continues to defend its pension reform proposal initially recommended by the European executive. Although it has since been watered down, its divisiveness has led to the paralysis of the transport system for almost a month. EURACTIV France reports.
GDP is not enough to understand inequality, says UNDP chief
At the heart of recent protest movements in Europe and elsewhere is a sense that economic growth has left many people worse off, even if, in most countries, the headline GDP figures suggest that countries are much wealthier.
France is a ‘good student with bad results’ when it comes to climate policy
France's independent advisory council on climate has highlighted the relevance of the country's carbon neutrality objective but considered it far from being a concrete reality as carbon emissions continue to be on the rise. EURACTIV France reports.
#EU2019 – EU election campaign leaves French people indifferent
No less than 33 election lists are taking part in the EU elections in France on 26 May. But that does not mean French people are highly mobilised for the vote, even though their president is an ardent defender of Europe.
Printing ballot papers for EU elections: major obstacle for the French
Smaller French political parties such as the ‘yellow vests’, the Pirate Party, the Animalist Party and even the party calling for Esperanto to be adopted as an EU language, are flocking to the European elections. But they will have to dish out at least €300,000 to cover the costs of printing ballot papers. EURACTIV France reports.
French electorate in doubt and abundance of candidates: What could go wrong?
Although they elected an ardent defender of Europe as their president, French people are poorly mobilised on the European elections, where 33 French election lists are set to challenge each other on 26 May. EURACTIV France reports.
Nico Cué, the trade unionist with a green soft spot
The lead candidate for the European Left at the May EU elections devoted much of his professional life defending the rights of steel workers in his native Belgium. He now brings his fight to the European level, adding shades of green to his political spectrum.
French ‘yellow’ list for the EU elections strikes alliance with far-right MEP Philippot
Jean-François Barnaba, who leads the ‘Jaunes et citoyens’ list is striking an alliance with ‘Les Patriotes’, the far-right party of former Le Pen ally Florian Phillipot. Both want France to leave the European Union and drop the euro. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.
Only four out of ten French people can name top EU Parliament candidates
With one month to go before the European elections, French voters are showing little interest in them and appear to have limited knowledge of top candidates. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.
Le Pen claims to be spokesperson for ‘real yellow vests’
Marine Le Pen has said that she is the mouthpiece for the “real yellow vests” for the European elections, standing up for “poor workers, admirable single mums and needy pensioners.” EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.
Increasing number of ‘yellow vest’ lists for European elections
With the announcement of a third ‘yellow vest’ list for the European elections, the movement seems to be divided. However, it has managed to make taxation one of the central issues of the May 2019 vote for French people. EURACTIV France reports.
Climate action: Seeds of hope for 2019
While there is a growing recognition of the need for climate action, last year taught us that for a sustainable long-term energy transition to be effective, the roadmap to get there needs to be inclusive and citizen-driven, writes Imke Lübbeke.
France’s ‘great national debate’: Taxes, public services, environment and democracy
The French president wants to hold a “great national debate” by mid-March in an attempt to find a way out of the ‘yellow vest’ crisis. The head of state has revealed the debate’s main topics in a letter addressed to the French people. EURACTIV France reports.
Italian minister Di Maio shows support for French ‘yellow vests’
Luigi Di Maio, the Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), likened the French ‘yellow vests’ to his own political movement. Moreover, he openly criticised the French government. EURACTIV France reports.
‘Yellow vests’ killed EU bid to phase out regulated electricity prices
A European Commission proposal to phase-out regulated prices of electricity looked set to win approval from EU member states until the 'yellow vest' movement swept across France and nipped it in the bud.
COP24: ‘Yellow vest’ crisis weakens French position
In the midst of the ‘yellow vest’ movement in France, criticisms made by heads of state – such as Trump, Salvini and Erdoğan – fuel mistrust towards climate action, notably that carried out by France. EURACTIV France reports.
Is populism bad for climate change?
The violent response to the French carbon tax in Paris demonstrates good climate policy is dependent on a fair, just and managed transition writes Sanjeev Kumar. Far from stalling, climate change action is becoming a major issue in elections globally, he says.
Tweets of the Week: Article 50 in ECJ, Selmayrgate, and Gilets Jaunes protests
This week, Article 50 in ECJ, Selmayrgate just won’t go away, and Gilets Jaunes protests go seriously astray.
French government prepared to back down on carbon tax
After the riots at the margins of the “yellow vests” movement, the carbon tax adopted under François Hollande is expected to be revised downwards. EURACTIV France reports.