The leader of the Green Party, Marine Tondelier, has been one of the most prominent voices in the left’s electoral campaign.
The alliance of the left and the Greens in France, the New Popular Front (NFP), became the dominant force in Sunday’s electionsfrustrating Marine Le Pen’s offensive to bring the extreme right to power.
It was a surprise after opinion polls had predicted for weeks a comfortable victory for the National Group (AN). With 182 seats for the left, 168 for Macron’s centrist alliance and 143 for Le Pen’s AN, no group has secured a working majorityaccording to data from the Ministry of the Interior cited by the newspaper Le Monde.
The leader of the Green Party, Marine Tondelier, has been one of the most prominent voices of the electoral campaign of the left. The party is one of the three largest in the alliance and Tondelier has been proposed for the position of prime minister.
From the beginning, Tondelier advocated a “republican front” against the extreme righta joint effort that involved withdraw candidates in the second round of the elections in favor of those who were in better conditions to defeat the extreme right.
“Tonight social justice won,” Tondelier said in his victory speech. “Tonight he won environmental justice. Tonight the people have won. And this is only the beginning”.
Who is Marine Tondelier?
Recognizable by his iconic green blazer, Tondelier has opposed the far right since the beginning of his political career, about 15 years ago. He is from the former mining town of Hénin Beaumont, in the north of Francegoverned by AN.
It is part of the 11th constituency of Pas-de-Calais, a constituency represented by Marine Le Pen since 2017, and Tondelier is nicknamed “the other Marine”.
Tondelier was chosen opposition member on the city’s municipal council in 2014 and has always been vocal in local politics. In his book ‘News from the Front’, published in 2017, he recounts his experiences of harassment and intimidation under an AN mayor. He has led the French Green Party since December 2022.
As veteran fighter against the extreme rightTondelier has been a key player in the creation of the left-wing coalition that swept Sunday night. In just a few days he has become a popular political figure.
Tondelier accused AN leader Jordan Bardella of to avoid a debate with herand criticized him saying: “Ah, okay, then it’s official, Bardella only wants to debate with men“.
“The PNV is also there to improve your daily life and make your tomorrow possible,” he told ‘France Inter’ on Monday, “and those who forget ecology will forget themselves“.
What does the Greens’ victory mean for climate action in France?
Without an operative majority, it will be difficult for the NFP legislative proposals to pass the parliamentary vote. He will probably have to enter another coalition that could dilute some of his policies. Even the NFP itself is a mix of socialists, greens, communists and the controversial party of extreme left France Rebellious.
The coalition’s plans include investment in renewable energythe development of offshore wind and hydroelectric energy, the abandonment of nuclear energy and the implementation of a climate plan whose objective is carbon neutrality by 2050.
It also mentions a national climate adaptation plan to protect peoples and your assets that includes temperature thresholds for outdoor workers in conditions of extreme heat. And the coalition says it wants to reform the divisive agricultural policy of the European Union.
AN’s defeat has also course a relief for supporters of European Green Deal. Its leader, Jordan Bardella, had called on the French government to “resign” from the agreement and what he described as “punitive” environmental policies of the EU.
