Marine Tondelier is no stranger to outbursts. She claims to be outspoken, a departure from the conventional wisdom so common in politics. This Monday, June 2nd, it was her left-wing partners who bore the brunt. A guest on the France Inter morning show, the national secretary of the Greens expressed “concern” about the “attacks” she claims are being waged against ecology. “When ecology takes such a heavy toll as it did last week, we’re all the victims,” she declared.
In just a few days, several issues have indeed collided. The resumption of construction on the A69 motorway, the abolition of low-emission zones (LEZs) voted on in the National Assembly, the potential return of a neonicotinoid pesticide… These are all issues that prompted Marine Tondelier to declare, as early as May 29, that “we are experiencing the worst week for ecology in a long time.” “When we talk about ecology, we’re talking about health, the environment, the future of your children. Too few people appreciate the gravity of what happened last week,” the elected representative from Hénin-Beaumont now believes.
In her sights: the Macronists, the right and the far right, but also the left. Nearly a year after the birth of the New Popular Front, Marine Tondelier is targeting each of her partners. La France Insoumise? They voted for the abolition of LEZs “without proposing anything else.” The Socialist Party? “It’s voting for the resumption of work on the A69 motorway, a motorway that’s going to suck up a crazy amount of money.” “And I’m not even talking about the communists… All of this is serious,” she said.
Marine Tondelier, National Secretary of the Greens in Paris
afp.com/ALAIN JOCARD
Immediately after this interview on France Inter, the rebellious party responded to Marine Tondelier. “The ZFE is a measure of social exclusion that is the opposite of the grassroots ecology we need to address the climate emergency,” argued LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard. According to him, “La France Insoumise is and will remain at the forefront of the fight for ecology. It will continue to do so despite these irresponsible divisive words at a time when Macron’s party and the right are multiplying environmental regressions.”
Tondelier does not want a “figurehead role”
“Worried and determined,” the Green Party leader regrets that “not everyone on the left is playing their part for ecology.” These remarks are particularly important at a time when the possibility of a primary to designate a joint left-wing candidate for the presidential election is being discussed. For the past year, Marine Tondelier has established herself as a unifying force for the various political forces, and continues to advocate for the left not to be left disjointed in 2027.
But nothing will happen without environmentalism, she warns. “Our camp must counterattack: if we need a single candidate in 2027, something I will fight for until my last breath, environmentalists must not play a supporting role,” she argues. According to her, the Greens do not intend to be reduced to the role of “nice primary organizers,” but want to influence both the nomination of the joint candidate and the “writing of the shared platform.”
“The Greens are very determined, we are not going to let them play the game of seven differences when the extreme right has already crossed the threshold of power,” explains the woman who also calls on all left-wing forces to come together around Lucie Castets on July 2 to discuss the modalities of a joint candidacy.
