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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Kim Willsher in Paris

‘Just pathetic’: France’s ‘make do and mend’ green strategy proves divisive

XR activists giving away free second-hand clothes in Toulouse
XR activists giving away free secondhand clothes in Toulouse last December. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

France is saving the planet one shirt, one plastic fork and one washing machine at a time. With refunds to be offered on repairs to clothing and household appliances, limits on single-use plastics in fast food and other restaurants and punitive parking fees for SUV owners, the recent green focus has targeted the consumer.

It is the latest phase in the government’s environment roadmap, pledged by Emmanuel Macron in his presidential re-election campaign last year and announced by the prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, in May.

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