Britain, France, and the European Union - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 109

like birds, or may be regional. The federation emphasizes conferences,
education, and the technical side of protection, rather than engaging in
political action. When the government wants citizen members of advisory
committees, it often goes through this group. In spite of its size, it is not
especially aggressive.
The French affiliate of the World Wildlife Fund, now the World Wide
Fund for Nature, has 170,000 members and a staff of 60. WWF projects
include protecting the Loire River, one of the last free-flowing ones in
Europe, protecting dolphins and whales in the Mediterranean Sea and the
brown bears in the Pyrenees Mountains, and managing more than 3 million
hectares of forests. It sees global warming as a threat to biodiversity. WWF
France decided to challenge the electricity industry because it was the larg-
est single source of carbon dioxide. Until recently, the government-owned
Electricitié de France operated as a monopoly. However, European Union
directives are forcing its privatization. Furthermore, nuclear plants, which
do not release carbon dioxide, account for three-quarters of generation.
WWF International opposes nuclear power, so the French affiliate feels
obliged to follow but is less enthusiastic. Since most plants in the country
were built during the 1970s, they are nearing the end of their lives. The
government must decide how to replace them. Many can be refurbished so
they can generate electricity for another 10 or 20 years. Moreover, nuclear
plants are often inefficient, so another step is to improve efficiency.
In contrast to WWF's ambivalent attitude, Greenpeace France vigor-
ously opposes nuclear power. The French office of this international group
opened in 1977. In 1985 the world was outraged when French secret service
agents bombed a Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior , in the harbor of
Auckland, New Zealand. The ship was in the South Pacific to monitor and
protest the French military detonation of an atomic bomb on the island
of Moruroa in French Polynesia. A photographer on board was drowned.
Eventually, the government admitted its guilt and paid $8 million to
Greenpeace International. Greenpeace France has 110,000 members.
The Friends of the Earth founded a French affiliate in 1971. Another
group established at that time was Pollution Non. During the 1970s, these
were the only national-level organizations concentrating on the environ-
ment. Later, Greenpeace established a French affiliate, targeting nuclear
energy and weapons in particular. The League for the Protection of Birds
now has 33,000 members and has affiliated with Bird Life International.
An antinuclear group, the Association for Protection against Radiation,
began in 1962.