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| Environment
in France |
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page still under construction |
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....
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- 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.
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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..)
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