Emmanuel Macron criticizes "uncertainties about the measures" after the suspension of MaPrimeRénov'

Emmanuel Macron urged the government on Saturday, June 7, to "maintain" its focus on ecology, highlighting in an interview with the regional daily press the "uncertainties surrounding the measures put in place" following the suspension this week of MaPrimeRenov' energy renovation aid.

"I expect the actors and the government to maintain this policy. I am not happy with what I have seen in recent days," the head of state declared in several publications, including Ouest-France and Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France.

"This is not the time to create uncertainty about the measures put in place," he insisted.

The government announced this week that the MaPrimeRénov' application window for comprehensive energy renovations and one-off insulation and boiler replacement work will close "by July 1st."

Housing Minister Valérie Létard also indicated that she wants to "change the rules" of the applicable system, following the suspension, which is expected to end by the end of September. This pause is motivated by "current backlogs (of new applications, editor's note) and excessive fraud," according to Eric Lombard, Minister of the Economy, who estimates the number of "suspicious files" at "16.000," or "12% of the stock."

Having already defended his ecological record during a trip to the North this week, Emmanuel Macron reiterated his position on Saturday by acting as a "lookout" on the eve of the opening of the third UN conference (UNOC 3) on oceans in Nice.

"I don't want either the government or Parliament to give in to the conveniences of the moment," he insisted, railing against those who "want to make people forget the fight for the climate" and "prefer, in the meantime, to brainwash people about the invasion of the country and the latest news."

Emmanuel Macron also called on the government to "continue the fight against deposits" for plastic, which were put on hold until 2023 after several years of hesitation over its implementation and in the face of hostility from local authorities. But this measure is "absolutely key," the head of state argued.

These are dark times for environmentalists in France. With the resumption of construction on the A69 motorway, the end of low-emission zones (LEZs), which restrict the circulation of highly polluting vehicles, a planned return to the use of hazardous pesticides, and a significant revision of the "zero net artificialization" (ZAN) policy... Parliament has endorsed or encouraged the unraveling of a large part of the environmental record of Emmanuel Macron's first five-year term.