Can ecology be right-wing? In any case, it must according to Puissance Verte, a movement driven by the LR mayor of Taverny (Val-d'Oise), Florence Portelli, and Ferréol Delmas, general director of the Responsible Ecology think tank. Sunday October 4, they brought together elected officials, former political figures, as well as experts in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire), to officially launch their project, in order to encourage elected officials from the center and the right to better take environmental issues into account.
At the start of this initiative, there is an “awareness” in the face of the fires and heatwaves which have multiplied this summer, “the right must urgently take up these subjects”, believes Florence Portelli. The one who is also vice-president of the AMF and deputy president of the Île-de-France region affirms that the demands come mainly “from local elected officials who practice ecology at the municipal, departmental, regional level”.
“A new trend” on the right
Present during this launch day, Basile Imbert observed that for several years, “the right has been trying again to invent its ecology and to come to grips with this question”. This doctoral student in political science at the University of Montpellier (also elected to the Socialist Party) came as an observer, as part of his work on right-wing ecology. He explains that these parties have always positioned themselves on ecology, but with strong ambivalence. He gives the example of Nicolas Sarkozy, who “at the same time held the Grenelle de l’environnement in 2008 and two years later, said “the environment is starting to do well””. He continues: “It’s not easy for them, because we expect more from them on questions about security, debt, business, immigration…”
Basile Imbert recognizes that Puissance verte seems to “start a new trend”. On October 4, “many right-wing movements were represented, not just the Republicans. There is a desire to open up to Jean-Louis Borloo, to Horizons… As if they had understood that it was necessary to open up beyond the Republicans to green the right,” he points out. The project seems “more ambitious than usual” to him, because it makes it possible to “create a space where ideas can emerge”, while today there is no major right-wing ecology reference on which to rely.
An “incentivizing” ecology
With Poussance verte, Florence Portelli wishes above all to raise “the expectations of the field and the difficulties encountered by local elected officials” at the grassroots level of the center and right parties. The elected Republican deplores that environmental issues are too often neglected on a national scale. “Some elected officials from both the left and the right practice ecology without knowing it, more because it is common sense: to make it less expensive for the community, it is better to recycle waste rather than throwing it away,” explains Basile Imbert. But the great novelty of this movement “is that they are trying to take responsibility for it, to say ‘we are right-wing, we are green and if you don’t like it, too bad’”.
For Florence Portelli, ecology should not be the preserve of the left. She judges, for example, that the Ecologists lead “an extremely punitive ecology”, where she wants the center and the right to follow “a more incentive logic”. What right-wing ecology is about, “it’s not growth at all costs, but it’s healthier growth,” she adds. Florence Portelli points out the overconsumption of imported (and therefore polluting) products, caused in particular by the deindustrialization of the country. “Our GDP does not take into account ecological standards today, but there are types of production that are virtuous: when you produce in the country, you avoid importing,” she continues.
An “energy mix”
Despite everything, the elected official remains aware that the right still has big gaps regarding ecology. “I am for nuclear energy, it is a pride of the right to have been a pioneer on this subject, but I do not understand why it is opposed to renewable energies. I find it regrettable to oppose the energy mix. It’s a real shame to reduce this to the controversy over wind turbines, simply saying that they spoil the landscape, when there is solar energy, hydraulics or even geothermal energy.”
Even if nuclear power remains a very thorny issue at the environmental level, Basile Imbert admits that the vision carried by Florence Portelli is quite unique. “Right-wing ecology without nuclear power is not possible,” he says. It’s truly their DNA and their history. De Gaulle, Pompidou, Messmer… These are people who brought nuclear power to France and they are not going to turn the page. »
“Will this last?” »
The movement also wishes to further embody the expectations of right-wing voters who, recalls Florence Portelli, have real ecological expectations. More than 74% of LR voters are in favor of doubling the number of wind and solar renewable energy sources by 2030. This is not really reflected in the decisions of their representatives in the National Assembly: in June 2025, right-wing deputies managed to pass a moratorium “on the development of new electricity production installations using photovoltaic and wind energy”. Worse, the Republican presidential candidate, Bruno Retailleau, declared in May that he wanted to “get out of the trap of environmentalist ideology” and “stop public financing of wind and photovoltaic energy”.
This is why Green Power - which is not a party, but rather a political movement - intends to weigh heavily in the presidential campaign. “We will ensure that environmental issues are developed in the various programs of the right and the center,” assures Florence Portelli.
