Macron’s Green Reversal Sparks Backlash from Allies

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French President Emmanuel Macron’s sudden shift against European Union green regulations has ignited a storm of opposition, even from within his own political circle. Once a leading advocate for stringent environmental policies, Macron is now accused of undermining his own environmental legacy and bowing to external pressures from business groups and international competitors, particularly the United States.

 

Key figures within Macron’s camp are voicing their discontent over his administration’s push to weaken upcoming EU rules that mandate companies to report on their environmental impact and potential human rights violations in their supply chains. Many believe this reversal betrays France’s hard-earned reputation as a champion of green policies in Europe. They also warn that succumbing to anti-regulation lobbying could ultimately harm both France and the EU.

 

“We are aiming at the wrong target,” said Macronist lawmaker and former minister Olivia Grégoire in defense of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), a regulation requiring businesses to disclose their environmental footprint and climate-related risks. France had previously supported the directive wholeheartedly.

 

“My fear is disavowal, my fear is that we are naive enough to think for a minute that we'll be able to confront the new American economy with the tools it uses itself,” said Grégoire, who had helped negotiate the directive’s text in Brussels.

 

Last month, a confidential note leaked by POLITICO revealed that France urged the European Commission to indefinitely delay the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and postpone the CSRD by two years. The French government contends that stringent environmental regulations could hurt Europe’s struggling economy by placing undue burdens on businesses. This shift in stance aligns with Macron’s recent call for a “massive regulatory break,” in which he described the impending regulations as a threat to economic competitiveness.

 

“We ourselves have supported certain regulations with very good intentions, and I share their philosophy. But at the moment we’re living in, we need to be able to suspend them until we’ve regained our ability to compete,” Macron told French ambassadors in January.

 

This U-turn mirrors a broader change in direction within the European Commission, which has pivoted from aggressive green policymaking to a more pro-business industrial approach, emphasizing deregulation and red tape reduction. Many see this as a concession to rising right-wing political forces across Europe, causing unrest among Macron’s liberal allies.

 

“Let’s not give in to populism that consists in thinking, like the far right, that every time there is a rule, you shoot against it,” warned Grégoire, arguing that if Europe fails to uphold its green standards, it will ultimately have to conform to those dictated by global powers such as the United States. With the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, his administration is expected to dismantle much of the environmental agenda implemented under Joe Biden.

 

“We don’t see any reason to postpone,” said Pascal Canfin, a French MEP from Macron’s Renew Europe group, reaffirming the group's position: “Yes to simplification, but no to delay.”

 

France was one of the first EU countries to introduce a national-level due diligence law in 2017. The government had proudly positioned the EU-wide directive as an expansion of France’s own regulations, requiring companies to monitor their supply chains for compliance with environmental and labor standards. During France’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022, Macron and his ministers championed both the due diligence directive and the CSRD as key economic priorities. Yet, even at the time, critics accused France of not fully committing to these measures behind closed doors—particularly as the financial sector was exempted from due diligence rules.

 

With business groups complaining that excessive red tape would make them less competitive against U.S. and Chinese companies, the French government has shifted its stance. A French industry lobbyist with inside knowledge of the negotiations admitted they were “positively surprised” by the change in France’s position, crediting Macron’s office as instrumental in this shift. However, for many within Macron’s party, this change has been met with frustration and disappointment.

 

“France was the one that defended and obtained these achievements at [the] European level in recent years. It is not acceptable to start a movement in which we would undo regulations and standards,” said MP Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, chairman of the National Assembly’s European affairs committee and a member of Macron’s party.

 

Similarly, Clément Beaune, who served as Macron’s Europe minister during France’s EU presidency, condemned the move, warning that aligning with right-wing demands could lead France and the EU toward a diluted form of Trumpism. The combination of increasing pressure from business lobbies and the rise of right-wing political forces opposing EU green policies has significantly influenced Macron’s change in direction, according to Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, head of the Jacques Delors Energy Center in Paris.

 

With Macron doubling down on his call for a “massive regulatory break,” France’s commitment to its once-proud environmental leadership now hangs in the balance. As European leaders debate the fate of these directives, the fallout from France’s U-turn continues to reverberate through the corridors of power.

 

Based on a report by Politico  2025-02-19