French President Emmanuel Macron faces a challenge to pass his environmental bill. — Reuters picPARIS, May 9 — President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to enshrine the fight against climate change in the French constitution via a referendum was in doubt today as senators appeared poised to torpedo the plan.
The National Assembly, where Macron has a majority, overwhelmingly voted in favour of the revision in March.They have already decided “to empty the bill of its substance”, Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a National Assembly deputy for Macron’s LREM party charged today. But a majority of senators takes issue with the word “guarantee” in the bill, which they say implies that environmental concerns would take priority over other constitutional principles.