What will the French Do?
New French President Nicolas Sarkozy is a conservative without much of an environmental record, but just three days into his term, he met with environmental groups to discuss issues ranging from global warming to the future of nuclear energy. France is the world's leader in the use of nuclear power. Of course, many environmentalists, no matter their concerns about global warming, are not pro-nuclear power.
Although France has a relatively small carbon footprint due to the 70 percent of electricity that comes from nuclear power, ecological leaders seem to have plenty to complain about to Sarkozy - genetically modified crops, increases in highways and incinerators and failure to to comply with some pro-environmental EU regulations. Only time will tell how Sarkozy will respond to the criticisms.
