Dressed up for the occasion, the 150 French citizens of the Citizens’ Climate Convention (CCC) walked up the ceremonial courtyard of the Élysée palace. They pose for pictures in front of the porch.
“I feel like Queen Elizabeth” one lady joked, as she waved to journalists.
Last October, French president Emmanuel Macron tasked this randomly-selected group, “in a spirit of social justice”, with finding ways to reduce France’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030, compared with levels of 1990.
Expected to wind up earlier in 2020, meetings were naturally halted during the coronavirus lockdown. But by mid-June, the CCC could finally present their 149 proposals (one had already been rejected by an internal vote).
On Sunday, on the eve of the Élysée Palace event, local elections were held and France was swept by a Green Wave.
The Europe Écologie Les Verts (EELV) won a number of major victories while Macron’s party, La République en Marche, (LREM) failed to win in any major city.
“It is clear that France is having a green awakening. I think that pushes president Macron to accept our suggestions” Mélanie Cosnier tells the EUobserver in the gardens of the palace.
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