contact persons
party profile
current government
election information

Jean-Louis ROUMEGAS
jean-louis.roumegas@lesverts.fr

Didier ROD: didier.rod@wanadoo.fr

Danielle AUROI: auroi@wanadoo.fr

Pierre SERNE: pserne@noos.fr

Brigitte BROZIO: broziobm@wanadoo.fr

Parliamentary group

Assemblée Nationale
contact: Martine BILLARD
Assemblée Nationale, 126 rue de l'Université, F-75355 Paris 07 SP
ph : 33 1 40 63 71 54
fax : 33 1 40 63 95 91
mbillard@assembleenationale.fr

Sénat
contact: Marie-Christine BLANDIN:
Sénat, 15 rue de Vaugirard, F-75291 Paris 06
ph : 33 1 42 34 29 84
fax : 33 1 42 34 40 20
mcblandin@nodnet.fr

 Members of the national parliament

Members in the European Parliament

Marie-Hélène AUBERT, MEP
EP-ASP 08 G 210, rue Wiertz,B-1047 Brussels
Ph: 32 2 284 5475
Fax: 32 2 284 9475
marie-helene.aubert@europarl.europa.eu
www.greens-efa.org/aubert

Hélène FLAUTRE, MEP
EP-ASP 08 G 169, rue Wiertz,B-1047 Brussels
Ph: 32 2 284 5364
Fax: 32 2 284 9364
helene.flautre@europarl.europa.eu
www.greens-efa.org/flautre

Marie-Anne ISLER-BEGUIN, MEP
EP-ASP 08 G 218, rue Wiertz,B-1047 Brussels
Ph: 32 2 284 5572
Fax: 32 2 284 9572
marieanne.islerbeguin@europarl.europa.eu
www.greens-efa.org/islerbguin

Alain LIPIETZ, MEP
EP-ASP 08 G 215, rue Wiertz,B-1047 Brussels
Ph: 32 2 284 5207
Fax: 32 2 284 9207
alain.lipietz@europarl.europa.eu
www.greens-efa.org/lipietz

Gérard ONESTA, MEP
EP-ASP 08 G 354, rue Wiertz,B-1047 Brussels
Ph: 32 2 284 5505
Fax: 32 2 284 9505
alain.lipietz@europarl.europa.eu
www.greens-efa.org/onesta

party profile

The Early Days
During the 1970s, people in France began to become aware of increasing environmental problems, yet without making the link between the problems and the pace of development of rich, industrial countries. A few activists, however, established this link and together with environmentalists, feminists and anti-militarist groups, they started a protest movement opposing the French energy policy that was based on the implementation of nuclear plants. As early as 1974, the third-world agronomist, René Dumont, stood for the presidential elections as an ecologist, contending the unsustainability of our development. He only achieved a small percentage of the vote (1,3 %), but because of the originality of his message and campaign, he made a great and lasting impression.

The antinuclear struggle came to a dramatic climax in July 1977, with a large demonstration in front of the Superphénix surgenerator plant where the heavy police presence resulted in the death of a demonstrator. Such violence brought ecologists and other alternative groups together to contest the legislative elections in 1978 under the slogan "Ecologie 78." Ecologist candidates got an average of 4,4% in the constituencies where they contested. In 1979, ecologists set up a list for the European elections, led by Solange Fernex, who unfortunately failed to reach the 5% election threshold, obtaining 4,4 %. Some ecologists felt the time had come to establish a permanent structure and thus created the "Mouvement d'Ecologie Politique" (MEM). In 1981, MEM, Friends of the Earth and unorganised activists chose Brice Lalonde, president of the Friends of the Earth in Paris, as the ecologist candidate for the presidential elections. He achieved 3,9%.

The Emergence of Les Verts
After the victory of the left-wing forces in 1981, the ecologist movement became irresolute for a time. MEM (which changed to the "Parti Ecologiste") and the Confédération Ecologiste, created by local groups in 1982, merged in January 1984 creating a new green Party "Les Verts." Brice Lalonde refused to join it, unless they selected him as head of the list for the coming European elections. Les Verts refused and presented a list headed by Didier Anger, which failed to reach the 5% threshold (3,4%) due to the competition of a list, headed by Brice Lalonde and two centrist classical politicians allied with the Socialist Party.
The following years were difficult for Les Verts, a small party overlooked by the media and unknown to the general public. Les Verts presented Antoine Waechter as their candidate for the presidential elections in 1988. He got 3,8%. Due to Bhopal Seveso, Chernobyl and some other ecological catastrophes, the Green lists topped high scores in the local elections in March 1989. In June 1989, Les Verts' list for the European elections headed by Antoine Waechter, gained 10,6% and 9 seats. Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin served as vice president of the European Parliament for over 2 years. The socialists tried to contain this "Green danger" with the help of Brice Lalonde, who they nominated Minister of Environment and encouraged in 1991 to launch a rival party, "Génération Ecologie." Surprisingly, this party (presented as close to the left wing forces) gained 7% at the regional elections in 1992. The two organisations formed an alliance for the 1993 legislative elections. This alliance got 7,8%, but no MP was elected because of the two-tier majority voting system. This result created disappointment, because the prospects were much better according to the polls.
Right wing forces won the election, and Brice Lalonde immediately tried to work with them. Toward the end of 1993, Les Verts decided to choose a strategy of autonomy, thus opening the door to alliances with the left forces. The European elections in June 1994 were contested in a climate of division. The Les Vert's list, headed by Marie-Anne Isler-Béguin, scored 2,9%-once again suffering from competition by Brice Lalonde, whose list got 2%. Because of the 5% threshold, Les Verts lost all their seats in the European Parliament. Antoine Waechter left them to create a small Mouvement Ecologist Indépendant, with little success.

A New and Improved Strategy
Les Verts chose Dominique Voynet as their candidate for Presidential elections in 1995. She was also supported by small ecologist and leftist groups, as well as by former members of Génération Ecologie. Despite her 3,3% score, she presented an attractive profile. In the autumn of 1995, Les Verts launched their "realistic" autonomous strategy and began to prepare political and electoral agreements with the Socialist Party. Severely defeated in 1993, the Socialists needed to renew their image. This they could do through an alliance with Les Verts. Jacques Chirac's decision to hold anticipated legislative elections in May/June 1997 led to the victory of the left forces and Les Verts, who, for the first time, gained 8 members in the National Assembly. Moreover, Dominique Voynet was appointed Minister of Environment and Town and Country Planning.

The Greens Today
With their minister, Les Verts have enjoyed some important political successes, such as stopping the Superphénix and Le Carnet nuclear plants and playing an important role at the Kyoto Conference. But on the other hand, Les Verts had to suffer some half-successes (with the new laws on hunting or water) and even some setbacks. The most important has been the difficulty to insert strong changes with a Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, and a ruling party, the Socialists, who had no environmental or ecological consciousness and have given to the Greens the minimum in order to maintain them in the majority coalition. In September 2000, les Verts strongly thought about leaving the government, because of a disagreement on the transport policy. Significant fact : the Socialist party did not respect its written promise to introduce a part of proportional system for the general elections. The goal is clearly to maintain Les Verts in the obligation of an alliance with the Socialist Party in order to have a few MPs.

Les Verts actively prepared the general elections in 2002 : at the presidential elections, in April, Noël Mamere got the best ever result of a Green at this election : 5,25 %. But this success was hidden by the unexpected defeat of the socialist candidate, Lionel Jospin, who obtained only 16,2 % , behind the extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen (16,9 %), and was eliminated from the second round. French people felt a little bit guilty with this unexpected success of the xenophobic extreme-right, so that at the second round the leader of the right, Chirac was elected with a large majority ((82,2 ) . Another consequence was that at the legislative elections, in June, the voters had a double trend : they gave a large majority to the rightist president, but tried to balance this by strenghtening the main opposition party, the Socialists. So that les Verts maintained their average result of 1997 (4,5 %) but got only 3 MPS (instead of 8), because of the general defeat of the left.
The spectacular defeat of the left forces, after five years in government, with a Green presence, was of course deceiving, but clearly the French people had been deceived with this government's policy. Despite some progressive laws on women's rights, on the working time reduction, the voters sanctionned the persistence of the poverty, and in these hard times of globalization, of high unemployment, they expressed a desire for security, largely assimilated with repression. The Greens have not been strong enough to obtain a more social and less liberal economic policy, to obtain a more humane treatment of migrantsŠ The Greens gained credibility as a governmental party, but the question of their relations with the Socialist Party was at stake.

In 2007, after five years of right-wing power and the 2002 experience, most of the  progressive voters wanted  to ensure the presence of the Socialist Party's candidate,  Segolene Royal, at the second tour of the presidentiel election, and voted for her since the first tour. Other unfavourable element, some traditional green voters opted for the radical GMO opponent and alter-globalization activist José Bové, while others opted for a less radical  ecological approach which was appearing  in the new centrist party Mouvement Democrate. At last, all the big candidates signed the Charter for environment promoted by the very famous TV star Nicolas Hulot, giving the impression that ecological preoccupations were taken in charge by everyone, not anymore by the sole Greens. All these elements led to a weak score of the Green candidate, Dominique Voynet,  who got only 1,57 %. A few weeks later, at the legislative elections, the Greens got only 3,25% and 4 MPS (out of 577)

Les Verts have many representatives in regional and local assemblies and are participating in some regional governments, such as in the capital region or the Nord-Pas de Calais. Les Verts have four members in Parliament and five Senator.

After the 2002 experience, Les Verts know better than ever how difficult it is to be a part of a national majority without losing their political identity and radicalness, to be present at social and institutional levels in order to change reality, yet without betraying their demands for social and international justice, for sustainable development and for democracy.  After the 2007 setback, Les Verts have now to make proof that they are always essential for transforming ecological preoccupations into political decisions

 current government

National Government: Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), Nouveau Centre (NC)

Parties Represented in National Parliament (183 seats): Parti Socialiste (PS) , Parti Communiste français (PCF), Les Verts, Parti Radical de Gauche (PRG), Mouvement pour la France, Mouvement Démocrate (MODEM)

 election information