EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW / The president of COP21, Ségolène Royal, is in Toulouse this Saturday to support the socialist candidate for the municipal election of Toulouse, Nadia Pellefigue.
President of the conference on climate change (Cop21) and ambassador in charge of international negotiations for the poles, Ségolène Royal is in Toulouse this Saturday to support two socialist candidates in the municipal elections next March, André Mandement in Muret and Nadia Pellefigue in Toulouse . Exclusive interview.
Why did you want to come to Toulouse to support the candidacy of Nadia Pellefigue (PS) in the municipal elections?
Nadia Pellefigue’s project is exemplary of what I believe is essential for the fight against climate change. I had announced that I will travel to the territories that wish as president of COP21. Faced with the climate disaster, the role of cities and local authorities is essential. It is this link between the local and the planet that will help reduce climate disasters. When we see what is happening in America, Australia or Brazil, which came out of the Paris climate agreement, we need to mobilize local communities. From this point of view, the Occitanie Region is exemplary, thanks to Carole Delga who made it one of the regions most ahead in terms of energy transition. In Toulouse, Nadia Pellefigue’s program corresponds to the implementation of the Paris climate agreement, with reinforced objectives in terms of climate requirements since the objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% greenhouse by 2030. And with the plant shield. I will also go to Muret, to meet associations with the mayor André Mandement and attend exemplary achievements, such as individual energy savings in housing, the revival of hydroelectric energy, action on the water etc. Then a beautiful sequence in Toulouse, with Nadia Pellefigue and Carole Delga. We will meet the residents of the Esso site on the theme of industrial risk, then we will exchange with associations on the ecological transition in Toulouse.
In what context did you organize this trip? Is it more generally part of a political Tour de France?
I had made the commitment to go to territories where candidates are carrying out energy transition programs in the face of the climate challenge. When we observe what is happening at the global level, we have no right to be timid. Territories and citizens are ahead of political decisions. If we put all the initiatives launched in the territories and cities together, we will get there. It is a great signal of hope for all those who think that it is ruined.
You obtained your best national score in Toulouse in the 2007 presidential elections. Can we speak of a “Royal effect” in Toulouse and in Haute-Garonne?
It was extraordinary, especially this great meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero. I had obtained excellent scores but it was mainly because the participation rate had been enormous. Voters today turn away from politics or no longer believe in it. This is why it is essential to give more reasons to hope in a municipal campaign. The ecological transition and the democratic requirement, co-constructing decisions with the citizens, are all elements that can help restore confidence in public action.
Nadia Pellefigue is the only woman topped the list among all the lists presented in Toulouse. Has the situation of women in politics not changed? Is it indicative of men’s hold on power?
It remains difficult because women are always expected to be perfect. Of a woman who shows character we will say that she is character, a man we will say that he is right to be firm. It needs to change. When we observe the spectacle of daily violence, the female-male balance can be a source of harmony. Women have a greater sense of compromise, appeasement, empathy, benevolence … What has traditionally been regarded as secondary feminine virtues has become a priority. We need to calm down, to take care of each other, we need to listen, these values are expected today. Life is hard enough, if in addition we are brutalized, shaken, it is too much. And it is therefore important, despite the difficulty, that women politicians get involved. I advocate a positive feminism, there is no question of eliminating men!
How do you stand today vis-à-vis the Socialist Party? How do you see its evolution?
This is not a question I ask myself, I respect all those who engage in political action and my concern for the moment remains quite simple: it is ecological transition and democratic renewal. As president of Cop21 I can testify to how much the global and the local must be articulated and I wish to put the label of Cop21 at the service of dynamic territories. I do not register my coming in a political cleavage nor in a government criticism but in a positive support.
“I have freedom of speech”
You are the ambassador responsible for international negotiations for the Arctic and Antarctic poles. Are you thinking of getting out of your duty of reserve by supporting candidates for municipal elections or by asking for the withdrawal of the pension reform?
Not at all. It’s very clear: I’m a long-time politician, I have freedom of speech and I believe I use it wisely whenever I deem it necessary by defending most of the French model. Besides, I don’t come as an ambassador for the poles, a voluntary mission. Ecological, social and democratic values constitute essential foundations for the future of the territories and of France. And so I express myself when I am questioned and I believe it useful, free.
After a new day of mobilization against the pension reform, how do you think to get out of the crisis?
I don’t want to mix everything with my coming. Let us say that the principle which seems to me strong is that the French social model, of which the public hospital and social protection are a part, constitutes a very precious national heritage which must not shrink due to a liberal ideology which is precarious for better privatize.
How do you respond to those who criticize your lack of involvement in your mission for the poles?
I have responded point by point to those who have engaged in malicious political innuendos. As for the two deputies who loudly announced a “convocation”, they lied because the National Assembly never voted for a commission of inquiry. The good thing is that it proves that my speech is disturbing. They will have to get used to it because I always try to speak fairly and not to shy away from questions.
What becomes of your Désirs d’Avenir ideas laboratory? How does it contribute to public debate? Can it become a movement in battle order for the next presidential elections?
Many people are thinking of reactivating and updating this laboratory of ideas. There are always interesting exchanges on social issues. The link remains, a team is working on it.
What will be your next electoral fight personally?
I can see the meaning of your question! Let me answer you that it is the fight today that counts for the arrival in municipal responsibilities of men and women, like Nadia Pellefigue, who have the strength to meet the climate challenge by creating jobs. that go with it.
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