Key facts
- France is experiencing its fourth brutal heatwave with dozens of wildfires.
- Green leader Marine Tondelier called for a national climate emergency and a 'climate welfare state'.
- President Emmanuel Macron described the situation as France's 'hardest since the second world war'.
- Most political parties have not yet clarified their climate crisis positions for the upcoming presidential election.
- Marine Le Pen's party has opposed the EU's green deal but now stresses it is not a climate crisis denier.
France is grappling with severe wildfires and a fourth heatwave, prompting questions about whether the climate crisis will become a central issue in the upcoming presidential election. Green leader Marine Tondelier has criticized the political class for ignoring the emergency and called for a national climate state of emergency and a 'climate welfare state' to support affected citizens.
Amid the escalating crisis, with approximately 260,000 people evacuated due to wildfires, political attention has largely focused on budget arguments, crisis planning, and funding for emergency services, including water-bombing planes. The more complex, long-term issues of emissions reduction and societal changes to combat climate heating have been largely sidelined.
President Emmanuel Macron, while visiting a crisis operations center, described the situation as France's 'hardest since the second world war' and 'totally atypical.' However, climate experts have stated that the increasing frequency of forest fires was predictable given rising global temperatures.
Many political parties are expected to reveal their full election manifestos, including their stances on the climate crisis, later in the winter. Climate campaigners express concern that by then, media attention on fires and heatwaves may have waned. Marine Le Pen, a prominent figure in the far-right National Rally (RN), has previously expressed skepticism about climate change alarmism and opposed the EU's green deal, though her party has recently emphasized that it does not deny the climate crisis. The RN's current focus has been on the bravery of firefighters and alleged state underfunding.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a radical left candidate, has proposed reorganizing French regions into 'eco-regions' to manage water supply and address the climate crisis. However, political science professor Rémi Lefebvre suggests that while ecology may be discussed more during the election campaign, it is unlikely to fundamentally reconfigure French politics due to a prevailing short-termist approach. He notes that past serious wildfires have not led to significant policy changes, and many French citizens feel those in power are incapable of effective action.