Je ne dis pas non – I don’t say no. This was environmentalist Julien Bayot’s response on Tuesday to the question of whether private swimming pools should be banned in France. Those five words were enough to provoke the wrath of all France against him.
Paul Demeier
Julien Bayot, the leader of French environmentalists, was a guest on the French news channel BFMTV on Tuesday evening. He was invited to talk about climate and drought. The topic is this summer in France. After four heat waves, the country recorded a record drought.
During the TV interview, the question was raised whether a ban on private swimming pools should be imposed in France. Then Julien Bayot replied, “Je ne dis pas non.” not say no. Bayo continued, “Because we are so late in providing an adequate response to climate change, we will eventually have no choice but to take bold action. We can’t slow down any further. If you still doubt the gravity of the situation, consider the fires in early summer in Gironde. Then we had to call in the help of firefighters from Austria and Poland. That’s the scale of the climate problem that has become so big.” (Read more below the picture)
Bayu pointed to the Gironde bushfires this summer to show the scale of the climate problem. – © AFP
3 million swimming pools
But many have not heard of this latest addition. They have already been burning Julian Bayo on social media for his pool ban. According to the latest estimates from the Federation of Pool and Spa Professionals (FPP), there are 3 million French households with a swimming pool. Million of them live in the Southeast. So banning swimming pools provokes very strong reactions.
Julie O’Doul (National Rally) tweeted: “Shouldn’t we prevent the green ayatollahs from spreading madness epidemics anymore?”
“The Greens want to ban everything and prevent the French from living, by perpetually imposing their punitive ideology,” his party colleague, Gisele Leloys, wrote on Facebook.
Jerome Riviere (Reconquête) tweeted: “Do the Greens have anything to offer other than ban everything?”
“Bayeau’s quest for sensibility is counterproductive to the cause he is championing,” wrote Alexandre Frischi, of Macron’s LREM party.
Special party whistles again
But the protests have also come from their own places. Bayou’s party colleague Melanie Vogels tweeted: “Environmental scientists don’t want to ban private swimming pools at all. We’re saying far-reaching austerity measures should be taken on water.”
The morning after he answered “Je ne dis pas non”, Julien Bayou also tied. He wrote on Twitter: “Just to clarify, we are already taking action to limit water. In large parts of the country, it is already forbidden to fill swimming pools (…) “Bayou added that he did not have a ready cement bill to ban private swimming pools. “This ban could be a last resort to conserve water.”
But even this explanation does not make the French more lenient. Most of the responses to the enlightening tweet revolve around the green mindset of banning things immediately: “Green Ayatollah, run away.”
