Christophe Béchu, Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, during the current affairs session at the National Assembly, in Paris on May 30, 2023. ERIC TSCHAEN / REA
This is an important step. Tuesday, June 27, at the end of the day, the National Assembly adopted the text of the bill “aimed at strengthening the support of local elected officials in the implementation of the fight against the artificialization of soils”i.e. the application of the “zero net land take [ZAN] » enshrined in the Climate and Resilience Law of August 22, 2021, an objective that had been supported by the Citizen’s Climate Convention.
The Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu, could therefore, on Tuesday evening, be satisfied with the work done by parliamentarians. A few months ago, it was not certain that senators and deputies find themselves on the means to be implemented to achieve this objective of zero net land take by 2050.
The first were to limit as much as possible the negative effects, in terms of economic development of the territories, of a possible freezing of the artificialization of the soil, tabling a bill in December 2022 (proposal studied by the Senate in public session on 14 March). The deputies of the Renaissance group had worked on another bill, close to the objectives carried by the government, which was tabled in the Assembly on February 14.
It is finally on the text of the senators, reworked and amended, that the deputies voted on Tuesday. A sign, according to Mr. Béchu, of the government’s goodwill towards the senators – some arguing that the senatorial election of September 24 is not for nothing in this gesture – and of its wish to see this law adopted before the summer.
“Doublespeak”
In the end, the bill was passed by a large majority of 437 votes for, 4 against, i.e. 441 cast out of 535 voters. Only the deputies of the environmental groups and La France insoumise (LFI) abstained. In fact, the Nupes deputies (New People’s Ecological and Social Union) hardly agreed on the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis this text supported by the government, the Democratic and Republican Left group (including the PCF) voting in favor of the text , “a favorable, vigilant and demanding vote” had to explain Sébastien Jumel (PCF, Seine-Maritime). The same applies to the Socialists and Related Groups, Stéphane Delautrette (Haute-Vienne) specifying that“it was in no way a blank check”. The right and the extreme right also voted in favor of the text as well as, of course, all the components of the presidential majority.
You have 65.29% .. “”.