Referendum on the climate: "It's the government's fault", denounces a member of the Citizens' Convention

Former payroll manager in full reconversion living in the Paris region, Agnès Catoire was one of 150 citizens drawn by lot, members of the Citizen's Convention on the Climate.

She is now continuing her commitment within the office of the association created by former members of the Convention.

While a doubt remains on the holding of the referendum on the climate, she delivers her feelings.

Who disappoints you in this story: Emmanuel Macron who acts the blockage in the Senate, or the senators who refuse the version of the Assembly?

AGNÈS CATOIRE

. We expected this result, because for months, the President of the Republic has not shown himself determined to defend our work. When we see what the government has done with our other proposals, of which only a very small part has been accepted, there is no doubt: it is their fault. Moreover, there would be other solutions, Emmanuel Macron could for example bring together the Congress. During the eighth session of the Convention in February, during which we assessed the government on its responses to our proposals, I refrained from putting a note on the referendum, because in my opinion nothing had been done yet. We have proof of that today. It's a shame because the creation of this Citizens' Convention had given me hope again, when I had been completely removed from politics for years.I gave the government a chance again, and it all fell apart. I do not even understand how such an outcome can serve the interests of Emmanuel Macron.

To read also "The story will end there": bad times for the referendum on the climate

But is this only the fault of the Head of State?

In June 2020, the 150 citizens voted to submit to referendum only the crime of ecocide and the modification of the preamble of the Constitution.

The rest of the proposals had been handed over to the executive ...

It was a mistake and I think everything fell apart a bit that day. Personally, I wanted us to submit all of our proposals to the vote of the French by referendum. I was so disgusted that I left the room. We have worked so hard on the measures themselves, and we ran out of time to debate their outcome, and a complex issue like the referendum. The argument was that the French were not prepared enough. We, citizens of the Convention, then behaved like politicians, saying that the French were not capable of deciding, and that it had to be done for them. This served Emmanuel Macron, who could then accuse us of not trusting French citizens ourselves.

Are you still optimistic about possible progress?

I am worried and full of disappointments.

But now I want more to follow political life and get involved, although I had never been an activist before the Convention.

This Sunday, I was walking for the climate in Paris, accompanied by my two daughters, aged 10 and 16, to make them want to get involved too.