The Fondation de l’Écologie Politique (Foundation for Political Ecology) is one of five French political foundations. Both a think tank and a historical archive center, it was created in 2012. Since 2024, it has been presided by Cédric Villani, mathematician, Fields Medallist r, former member of parliament and chairman of the French National Assembly’s parliamentary office for scientific and technical choices.
The aim of the Fondation de l’Écologie Politique (FEP) is to encourage the pooling of ideas around the ecological transformation of society, and thus to nurture policies likely to open up a new space for human progress and civilisation. The aim of this transformation project is to bring about far-reaching changes to economic and social organisation, production and consumption patterns, and to the relationship between man and nature.
The Fondation de l’Écologie Politique carries out its activities in partnership with all of society’s players: institutions, political parties, elected representatives, trade unions, professional organisations, businesses, NGOs, associations, foundations, intellectuals, researchers, creators, etc. It places particular emphasis on stimulating the European public arena and international cooperation. It carries out its functions in complete independence, in a spirit of openness and collective enrichment, in service of the general interest.
AN OBSERVATORY OF FRENCH SOCIETY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ECOLOGY
Since 2018 and the Yellow Vests movement, and confirmed by the results of the 2024 European elections, the implementation of the ecological transition is largely being played out in rural or peri-urban territories, where:
– the social issues linked to the ecological transition are exacerbated;
– very conservative and extreme right-wing movements are increasingly taking over these areas, or using them as their reference, to fuel an anti-green deal backlash.
Nevertheless, inhabitants of these areas:
– Are not all committed to conservative rhetoric ; these territories being largely crossed by different political options ;
– Are not hostile to environmental issues, even if ecology is perceived as a topic bringing division in society, particularly among the middle and working classes.
This is why the Fondation de l’écologie politique) is identifying a way to curb the backlash and broaden the social base in favour of the ecological transition:
– By making the latest research findings – in sociology, geography, etc. – accessible to civil society and put them up for discussion, so that strategies and roadmaps can be reworked on the basis of the day-to-day lives, constraints and aspirations of the millions of people living in these areas.
– By offering the media and opinion leaders a different perspective on these areas, their inhabitants and their relationship with the ecological transition. Notably, in highlighting the work that has been going on for several years – also done by civil society – to develop a fair transition, also in these areas.
A PARTNER IN THE INTELLECTUAL, POLITICAL AND TECHNICAL CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
The Fondation de l’Écologie Politique, in the tradition of the thinkers of political ecology, wishes to nourish the debates and controversies that accompany the possible paths of ecological transformation of human societies.
The complexity of the road ahead, and the diversity of options and paths, makes it essential to choose complexity, to question technological paths and public policies in their relationship to society, democracy and the overall limits of the planet.
Getting technology, politics and the social and political sciences to move forward together is a prerequisite for a just ecological transition. It is also a shield against the authoritarian temptations that are currently restructuring geopolitics in times of ecological chaos.
To accomplish its task, the Foundation supports research projects, produces analyses and relies on the recognized legitimacy of its governance.
AN ARCHIVE CENTER DEDICATED TO THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY IN FRANCE
Since 2015, the Fondation de l’Écologie Politique has also become an archive dedicated to the history of political ecology in France. From the end of the 1960s to the present day, these archives provide a precious record of the collective and individual commitments that have accompanied the emergence of ecology in French politics.
The Fondation de l’Écologie Politique regularly welcomes researchers, thereby helping to enhance the archives it manages.