As part of the presidential campaign, EELV (Europe Ecology – The Greens) organized a meeting-debate this Tuesday on the theme of “living better towards an ecological society” with activists and supporters.
Despite the absence of Cécile Duflot, the national secretary of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), who was involved in a “minor” car accident, the long-planned conference-debate was still held. This Tuesday, at the Splendid Hotel, Pascal Durand, the national spokesperson of EELV, accompanied by Mari-Luz Hernandez-Nicaise, municipal councilor, and Annabelle Jaeger, regional councilor, presented some points of their program for the presidential campaign and gave an assessment of their actions.
Challenges in Being Heard
“If the gap [in percentage of votes, editor’s note] between Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande is wide, there is room for us in the middle,” analyzes Pascal Durand, “people will return to the ecological vote.” Succeeding in being heard in this presidential campaign dominated by the two major candidates is the main challenge for the party and its candidate Eva Joly. There is, however, a real message to convey, estimates Mari-luz Hernandez Nicaise, addressing the “lack of knowledge of biodiversity among elected officials.” “The UMP or PS system is purely productivist. They reason in terms of growth without considering the consequences it entails,” for the environment, adds Pascal Durand. To succeed in conveying the most important points of EELV’s program, the spokesperson explains that there is a month and a half left to bring Eva Joly to 5% of votes by next April. This would constitute the critical threshold to create “a springboard for the legislative elections.”
A Shift to a 32-hour Workweek
“We must place the criterion of solidarity at the heart of public policies,” explains Pascal Durand. This involves increasing social minimums, guaranteeing rents, and implementing new energy tariffs for disadvantaged people. The main proposal, and the most controversial, is the shift to a 32-hour workweek. According to Pascal Durand, this would have the effect of “distributing work to everyone,” thereby reducing unemployment and job insecurity. Additionally, to force industries to produce in France and stop relocations, EELV proposes to increase transportation costs and to ban the importation of products that do not comply with environmental standards in the European Union. Finally, for the agricultural sector, EELV aims to promote traditional agriculture over intensive farming which “creates less work and consumes more energy.” These various proposals lead Pascal Durant to assert that “the message will remain regardless of the score.”
