French elections: 5 things you didn't know about Yannick Jadot
A casual dresser who is passionate about environmental activism and unafraid to take on the hunting lobby - here's what you need to know about France's green candidate for the 2022 presidential elections.
1 He's an activist
Before entering politics, Jadot worked for the environmental charity Greenpeace, co-ordinating the group's actions in France.
He left Greenpeace in 2007 and was elected a Green MEP. He stood as the Green candidate in the 2017 French presidential elections, but withdrew his candidacy before polling day and agreed to support the centre-left candidate Benoit Hamon. For the 2022 race he was chosen as candidate at a primary of Green voters.
2 He's brave enough to infuriate la chasse
Hunting is a highly popular pastime in France and for this reason many politicians fear to suggest extra regulations on the sport. Not so Jadot, who is on record as saying that he wants to ban hunting at weekends and during the school holidays.
As well as the environmental concerns, he was also responding to safety worries, since every year in France passers-by (and hunters themselves) are killed or injured by la chasse.
3 He has a good regional powerbase
Jadot's personal poll ratings in the presidential elections are not good, but the Green party has been doing well on a local level.
Several of France's largest cities including Grenoble, Lyon, and Bordeaux are now controlled by Green mayors, while Paris is ruled by eco-friendly Socialist Anne Hidalgo in co-operation with the Greens.
4 He's not keen on ties
Male French politicians tend to be very conservative (read: boring) dressers - dark suit, white shirt and plain dark-coloured ties are the norm.
Jadot, though, is more usually photographed in an open-necked shirt, although he is apparently willing to compromise on this.
During a phone-in with France Inter, he told a listener: "For my part, I have never worn a tie. But I hear when, in my travels, people, including people of a certain age, who say that to be President of the Republic, one must wear a tie.
"And I hear them because I don't want to be disqualified on the basis of an article of clothing."
The photo on his election posters (without tie) was taken by Jonathan Mannion, an American photographer who more usually works with rap and hip-hop artists creating album covers.
5 He tweets in English
If you want to keep up with Jadot's campaign latest and are not a French speaker, you can follow the 'Yannick Jadot in English' Twitter account.
It's not actually him tweeting, it's a bot account maintained by a colleague in the Green party, but it gives a fairly accurate translation of what the candidate is saying on his official twitter account (@yjadot).
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1 He's an activist
Before entering politics, Jadot worked for the environmental charity Greenpeace, co-ordinating the group's actions in France.
He left Greenpeace in 2007 and was elected a Green MEP. He stood as the Green candidate in the 2017 French presidential elections, but withdrew his candidacy before polling day and agreed to support the centre-left candidate Benoit Hamon. For the 2022 race he was chosen as candidate at a primary of Green voters.
2 He's brave enough to infuriate la chasse
Hunting is a highly popular pastime in France and for this reason many politicians fear to suggest extra regulations on the sport. Not so Jadot, who is on record as saying that he wants to ban hunting at weekends and during the school holidays.
As well as the environmental concerns, he was also responding to safety worries, since every year in France passers-by (and hunters themselves) are killed or injured by la chasse.
3 He has a good regional powerbase
Jadot's personal poll ratings in the presidential elections are not good, but the Green party has been doing well on a local level.
Several of France's largest cities including Grenoble, Lyon, and Bordeaux are now controlled by Green mayors, while Paris is ruled by eco-friendly Socialist Anne Hidalgo in co-operation with the Greens.
4 He's not keen on ties
Male French politicians tend to be very conservative (read: boring) dressers - dark suit, white shirt and plain dark-coloured ties are the norm.
Jadot, though, is more usually photographed in an open-necked shirt, although he is apparently willing to compromise on this.
During a phone-in with France Inter, he told a listener: "For my part, I have never worn a tie. But I hear when, in my travels, people, including people of a certain age, who say that to be President of the Republic, one must wear a tie.
"And I hear them because I don't want to be disqualified on the basis of an article of clothing."
The photo on his election posters (without tie) was taken by Jonathan Mannion, an American photographer who more usually works with rap and hip-hop artists creating album covers.
5 He tweets in English
If you want to keep up with Jadot's campaign latest and are not a French speaker, you can follow the 'Yannick Jadot in English' Twitter account.
It's not actually him tweeting, it's a bot account maintained by a colleague in the Green party, but it gives a fairly accurate translation of what the candidate is saying on his official twitter account (@yjadot).
READ ALSO
- 5 things you didn't know about Emmanuel Macron
- 5 things you didn’t know about Marine Le Pen
- 5 things you didn’t know about Valérie Pécresse
- 5 things you didn’t know about Eric Zemmour
- 5 things you didn’t know about Yannick Jadot
- 5 things you didn’t know about Anne Hidalgo
- 5 things you didn’t know about Fabien Roussel
- 5 things you didn’t know about Jean Lassalle
- 5 things you didn’t know about Philippe Poutou
- 5 things you didn’t know about Nathalie Arthaud
- 5 things you didn’t know about Nicolas Dupont-Aignan
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