The videos have already made the rounds on social networks.
Immortalized by journalists this Friday, they show the cars of the ministers stopped, this Friday, in the Court of the Elysée, doors closed, while their engine purrs at full speed.
And for good reason: the air conditioning is on there, while waiting for the exit of the Council of Ministers, to allow its last to quickly find the artificial freshness - by the 27 degrees ambient.
Images that do not pass, while ten days earlier, the government called on the French to "small gestures" to save energy and show sobriety, such as cutting off the wifi, unplugging sockets before going on vacation or ... turn off the air conditioning.
Whoops.
Asked after this Council of Ministers, government spokesman Olivier Véran did not hide his embarrassment, and made his mea culpa:
“You are right.
You have to pay attention to everything
.
From the moment we say to the French: the State, the ministries, the central and territorial administrations will set an example, that will require (to) change, and quickly, a certain number of behaviors.
Every time we don't, you won't miss us.
And so much the better, because that's what will accelerate our behavior change for all
”.
Read alsoEnergy savings: France takes its first steps towards sobriety
However, for a fortnight, the instruction had precisely been given to the Élysée not to stop the engines of the cars of ministers, according to a source close to the executive questioned by Franceinfo.
While Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, in a circular, still asked ministries and administrations to
“exemplify”
in terms of energy sobriety last Monday.
On July 14, Emmanuel Macron himself announced a vast
“energy sobriety plan”
during his television interview, on the sidelines of the National Day parade, again inviting the French to
“hunt for energy waste”
to
“consume less"
.
It's time to lead by example...