French Socialist Prez Candidate Pitches €200bn ‘Ecological Revolution'
Raphaël Glucksmann, a French Socialist presidential contender, pitches a €200 billion five-year ecological program to phase out fossil fuels by 2050, aiming to more than double renewable energy by 2035 and position climate policy as the core of public governance. The plan includes mass public electrification and housing upgrades, financed partly by a wealth tax on ultra-wealthy assets and reforms to energy and transport taxes, with private investment expected to follow. He markets himself as a sober left alternative to more radical rivals, while balancing ties with allied figures from the broader left. Details will be released next month as the campaign positions itself ahead of the election season. The initiative unfolds amid internal leftist dynamics, including contrasting approaches to nuclear energy and past alliances with Mélenchon.
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Glucksmann announced a €200 billion eco-revolution over five years, aiming to more than double renewable energy production by 2035 and ultimately end fossil fuel use in France by 2050.
The plan envisages the government purchasing one million compact electric cars to be leased to the public for €100 per month with no down payment, and funding a scheme to provide housing heat pumps for about €1 per day.
Means-tested energy vouchers of €200–€500 would be distributed to millions of families, and public transport investments would prioritize rail, including a €1-per-day Sustainable Mobility Pass for under-25s to curb domestic flights.
Funding would come from sources such as a five percent wealth tax on assets over €100 million, plus revenues from oil/gas profits, an EU green bond, removing some flight tax exemptions, higher airline ticket taxes, and targeted levies on private jets and yachts.
Glucksmann relies on a hoped ripple effect of private-sector investment in green energy to supplement public spending, framing the plan as a pragmatic leftist alternative amid a crowded field.
The campaign notes a strategic contrast with Mélenchon, who elsewhere has advocated a Germany-style nuclear fleet shutdown, while Glucksmann supports maintaining France’s current nuclear capacity but has not stated a future expansion stance.