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[text/observer.com columnist kong fan]

while countries around the world are racking their brains to “speed up”, paris mayor anne hidalgo has calmly chosen to “slow down”.

starting from october 1st, the speed on the paris ring road will be reduced to 50 kilometers per hour, and will be officially implemented from october 10th. in many areas of the city, the mileage has long been reduced to 30 kilometers, not to mention that many roads have given way to pedestrians, buses and cyclists.

regarding the reason for "speed reduction", the mayor of paris said that it is "to reduce noise and air pollution". in short, it is for green environmental protection. however, major french media and experts have different opinions, while motorists are overwhelmingly opposed. noise reduction is real, but what about reducing emissions? not only is there no scientific basis, but in some cases it can even increase pollution caused by emissions, braking, etc. but hidalgo was re-elected with the support of the green party. with this "green" ideology, it seems that she is going to go to the extreme.

as for the negative impact on the economy, it seems that it is not within the scope of the paris parents’ consideration.

it is clear that the transportation industry is a direct victim of this decision. for trucking companies, reduced logistics efficiency may lead to increased costs, including fuel costs, extended driver hours, and uncertainty about delivery times. this will undoubtedly be transmitted to the entire supply chain, putting commodity prices under pressure. .

at the same time, the speed limit policy has also caused trouble for some commuters, but the resulting effects do not seem to be mentioned by the paris city government. it's your problem that you're late for work, how can the government be held responsible?

the question is, is the public transportation in greater paris also overloaded? hidalgo would say: good question, please ask valérie pécresse, president of the paris region council, who is responsible for public transport in greater paris. as we all know, pequeres is hidalgo's bitter rival, and the two often bicker in public and refuse to give in to each other.

with such a commotion, the biggest question arises. for the sake of environmental protection and the impact on economic development, who will pay for this bill? the paris city government apparently didn't think anything of it. just like designs such as paris beach, economic benefits are not considered.

who pays for green environmental protection in the end? it seems to be the government, but in fact it is not the taxpayer.

no matter how many reasons mayor hidalgo gives for paris to “slow down”, her political considerations cannot be concealed.

in the second round of the 2020 french municipal elections, hidalgo received strong support from the green party and defeated two other female opponents, winning 50.2% of the vote. after her victory, she told the citizens of paris that you chose hope. hidalgo, who was successfully re-elected, also said at the time that we should jointly build a more comfortable paris and not abandon anyone on the road to urban reconstruction. this is said not only to the people of paris, but also to the green party that supports her.

there is a reason why hidalgo is so close to the green party. in the municipal elections that year, the green party won victories in cities such as lyon, marseille, bordeaux, and strasbourg. these are all big cities in france. hidalgo must make paris a success. it resonates with these cities. from that moment on, her governance philosophy was firmly hijacked by the green party.

in the big cities where the green party is in power, the main banner is "ecological politics", and it will radiate from these cities to the surrounding areas. however, in the context of france's weak economic development, poor people's livelihood, and widening gap in living standards between suburban office workers and big cities, this proposition is not only impossible to realize (during macron's tenure, many environmental protection commitments have shrunk in advance of the economy), but also more it highlights the contrast between the "caviar white left" in big cities and the groups in the suburbs who rely on shabby cars to get to work.

in short, hidalgo's decision to significantly increase parking fees in paris despite opposition to speeding up parking is nothing more than political manipulation that puts green ideology first and is divorced from reality and the people.

now, there are still two years to go before the next municipal election in france. of course, hidalgo still wants to be re-elected. after all, the position of paris mayor is too important and his authority is not small. however, the french traditional left-wing socialist party, to which she belongs, is almost falling apart. the big tree behind her fell down, and she had to find another one. the green party not only put her in office four years ago, but they have also treated her well in recent years. of course she wants to hug this "green plant" that is getting bigger and bigger. at the same time, this "green plant" is becoming more and more powerful in europe.

the full name of the green party is the french "european eco-green party" (eelv). there are two important turning points in the development of the green party: first, in january 1984, it transformed from a social organization to an established political party "the green party" (les verts). , the second is the reorganization and establishment of the "european ecological green party" in november 2010.

although the green party, a left-wing political party, is not large in scale, it has always been active in french politics. protecting nature and social ecology is the core political program of the green party. in terms of natural ecological protection, the green party emphasizes the responsibility of the entire human group to protect the environment and ecosystems for future generations, and advocates protecting biodiversity, coping with climate change, and promoting energy transformation. in terms of social ecology, the green party emphasizes social unity and justice. , reduce social inequality, share wealth and resources, oppose the destructive effects of economic liberalism, encourage the development of alternative economic initiatives, protect pluralism, respect the rights of minority groups, oppose racism, punish corruption, promote peace and tolerance, etc.

in the green party’s political views, many specific issues involve both the natural and social fields, such as emphasizing sustainable social development, advocating the abandonment of productivist ideology and the dogma of unlimited economic growth that do not take into account the limited resources of the earth, and advocating production and ecological transformation of consumption patterns, etc. the green party's political views point directly to the many problems revealed in france's social development, which has won it wider public support.

but the success of the green party in france's previous elections goes back a long time. in recent major elections, its results have been extremely poor. the green party failed in this year's european parliament election. in the second round of french legislative elections, it could only survive by forming an alliance with the far left.

a major study recently conducted by the journal european political economy concluded: “economic growth, as measured by changes in real quarterly gdp, is a key factor in the popularity of the green party.” there is evidence that , voters who perceive a weak economy are likely to “punish political parties more harshly when they associate them with environmental policy.”

in other words, when facing economic problems, the green party can no longer blindly emphasize green environmental protection. but with the greens marginalized across europe, concerns are growing over the long-term prospects of a european green deal in brussels. in other words, although the economy is not good, the environment cannot get any worse. what a dilemma.

let's go back to paris. if hidalgo’s series of paris “speed-down” plans are all for her political ambitions, it would indeed be unfair to her. green environmental protection is always what our planet needs. the question is how to balance the relationship between green environmental protection and social and economic development. it is indeed an art that requires truth and pragmatism. in terms of environmental protection, is it also considered a non-environmental behavior to rush for quick success?

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