Huge wildfires in Gironde, in the Landes and in the Var. Repeated heatwaves across the country. A severe drought dealing a heavy blow to agriculture. This summer, France has been sorely tested by the elements.
Last winter, too, the country went through several months marked by a succession of weather fronts and storms (Goretti, Ingrid, Nils, Pedro), causing major flooding across France.
With only a few months to go before the next presidential election, environmental issues are set to take on an unprecedented role in the political debate. Historically carried by the left, the topic has now become unavoidable, forcing the right and the far right to seize upon it.
Because today, "in view of the delays incurred and the seriousness of the situation, France no longer has a choice: it must adapt, and fast", warns the association Réseau Action Climat (Climate Action Network), which challenges the record of successive governments that "have not taken the necessary measures to adapt the country to the effects of climate change".
Yet warnings have been sounding for years. As early as 2013, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) stated that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal and, since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia".
