Environment in France

Facts & Figures about environment in France

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Misc. facts & figures

Europe : for environment as well as for most policies, France must follow European regulation and European countries tend to get closer and closer. The major specificities are : France is very indisciplined and has been condemned several times to heavy fines by the European Court of Justice for not following Environmental European "directives" (laws), for instance regarding the protection of migratory birds (not to alienate hunters), of fishing resources (not to alienate fishermen), nitrogen in water (not alienate Breton farmers) etc... nuclear : France has a very strong and long-established nuclear policy where for instance Germany has banned nuclear power-plants Kyoto : France discharges 3 times less CO2 per inhabitant than the USA : 8 tons per inhabitant per year compared to 24 (see detailed figures) due to : the importance (almost 80%) of nuclear power plants in the production of electricity the much lower gas consomption of European cars less waste of energy in housing (heating, air-conditioning, etc...) In comparison to the USA, France ranks rather favorably on many environmental indexes (even if some US states like California have very advanced policies). See more detailed figures. Politics : several political parties campaign at a national level on environmental issues. They are weak and divided and the three most significant do not represent more than 3 or 4 % of the vote altogether at the national level (but more at the local level) : les Verts : generally in association with the Socialist Party Cap 21 : less politically oriented Jose Bové : associated with extreme Left-wing More to come....

Parks : France has 9 national parks (Cévennes in Central mountains, Ecrins-the most visited-, Vanoise and Mercantour in the Alps, Guadeloupe, Guyane and Reunion in overseas territories, Port-Cros on the Mediterranean sea, Pyrénées at the Spanish border) and 45 regional parks, covering altogether almost 15% of the country, quite a sizeable proportion. By the same token, the "Conservatoire du Littoral", a public body, purchases every year between 10,000 and 25,000 acres along the coast to prevent it from being developed and owns now more than 900 km of coast line. Grenelle de l'Environnement : in October 2007, newly elected president Sarkozy organized large meetings to include effective changes in the policy of his administration regarding environmental concerns, following his campaign commitment (very popular environmental activist Nicolas Hulot had threated to run for President if the candidates did not commit to do anything significant in the field of environment). Key decisions include building additional 2,000 km of high speed rail network, suspending GM commercial crops, investing a billion euros in new energy sources, new generation engines and biodiversity (including a "green network" linking natural areas), tax credits for thermal renovation, new standards of energy efficiency in housing, a "green disk" for cars (a bonus for energy efficient cars and tax for others), etc... Environment and hunting : Hunting is a big issue in France. The number of hunters is close to 2 million and they are very attached to the right to hunt. This goes back to the French Revolution which abolished the exclusive right of nobility to hunt and now hunters can hunt on any private property. They even have their own political party. Ecologist movements of course support the European restriction to hunting endangered species and hunting migrating birds on their way back to Europe. But the European regulation is constantly challenged by French hunters who consider the ecologists their worst enemies.

To table of contents Back to home page	Harriet Welty Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French. Order her books : "French Toast, An American in Paris Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press, New York, 1999 "French Fried, The Culinary Capers of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001 More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming events, testimonials, etc..)	site still under construction
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