Châtelain attended France Unbowed’s summer event along with seven other party officials, where she told reporters that “there is common ground” between the Greens and Mélenchon. She even appeared before cameras flashing a wide grin beside Mélenchon — a strong political signal given her key role as the party’s top lawmaker in the National Assembly.
“We are at two crossroads at once,” she said, referring to the rise of the far right and the climate change-fueled heat and wildfires that engulfed France over the summer. “What matters now is finding the most effective way for the Greens to put their ideas forward.”
On paper, Mélenchon has some of the credentials needed to convince the Greens. He has defined himself as an “eco-socialist” for over a decade and stressed the need to “unite the red with the green.” Even Monique Barbut, the former head of WWF France who now serves as ecology minister in France’s current center-right government, said in a recent interview that Mélenchon is the candidate who “incorporates climate issues most fully into his proposals.”
The foreign policy split
There are, however, sticking points. Mélenchon is a vocal critic of the European Union in its current form, which he sees as an engine for unregulated capitalism, while the French Greens have long advocated for European federalism.
“[The EU] is a fundamental issue, because our project conflicts with European regulations,” said Clémence Guetté, who is in charge of writing Mélenchon’s presidential platform. “We know where our disagreements [with the Greens] are.”
Mélenchon and the Greens have also clashed on support for Ukraine. Mélenchon is against Ukraine joining the EU and said his goal was to “bring Russia back into the European family,” while the Greens have been much more adamant in their support for Kyiv in its war against Russia. The Greens also see Mélenchon as too friendly toward China.