Nicolas Hulot | |
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| Minister of State,Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition | |
| In office 17 May 2017 – 4 September 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe |
| Preceded by | Ségolène Royal (Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy) |
| Succeeded by | François de Rugy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-04-30)30 April 1955 (age 69) Lille, France |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer, environmentalist |
Nicolas Jacques André Hulot (French pronunciation:[nikɔlaʒakɑ̃dʁeylo]; born 30 April 1955) is a French journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and honorary president of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, anenvironmental group established in 1990.
Hulot ran as a candidate in the primary for theEurope Ecology – The Greens (EELV) party in 2011, but lost toEva Joly in the second round. He declined offers to be a government minister forJacques Chirac,Nicolas Sarkozy andFrançois Hollande,[1] but in May 2017, he agreed to serve underEmmanuel Macron and was appointedMinister of Ecological and Solidary Transition in thefirst government of Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe.[2] In August 2018, he announced his resignation from theSecond Philippe government, citing policy disagreements and leadership issues.[3]
Hulot is an officer in theLegion of Honour and a knight in theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2021, he announced his retirement from public life in response to a documentary outlining a series of sexual assault allegations against him.
Hulot was born 30 April 1955 inLille to Monique Marguerite Marie Hulot (née Moulun), apharmaceutical sales representative, and Philippe Marie Joseph Hulot, a gold miner in Venezuela. Hulot had one brother, Gonzaga, and a sister, Beatrice.
Hulot's father Philippe died when Hulot was fifteen years old. Gonzaga Hulot committed suicide on 24 December 1974 when Hulot was 19 years old.[4]
Hulot took up rallying as a hobby when he was growing up and took part in the 1980Dakar Rally, though he didn't finish the race due to difficulties with his vehicle.[5]
From 1973 to 1978, Hulot worked as anagency photographer forSipa Press where he documented the1976 Guatemala earthquake and interviewedIan Smith during theRhodesian Bush War.[4]
Hulot left Sipa Press in 1978 to move toFrance Inter after being offered work as a radio journalist and producer. Hulot debuted on television during the children's programLes Visiteurs du mercredi.[6] Hulot also presented the short-lived educational programmeLes Pieds au mur.[7] Following this, Hulot became an evening reporter focusing on motorcycle events. Hulot left France Inter in 1987.
Hulot presented the television programme,Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'extrême which was focused around extreme sport and natural landscapes throughout the world. The programme was broadcast onTF1 and was co-produced by Hulot's then-girlfriend Dominique Cantien.Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'extrême made Hulot ahousehold name in France.Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'extrême ran from 1987 to 1995. Hulot went on to present Opération Okavango (1996–1997) andUshuaïa Nature (1998–2012).[8][failed verification] Hulot's contract with TF1 ended in December 2011 though four of the remainingUshuaïa Nature episodes aired in 2012.
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In 1990, Hulot founded theUshuaia Foundation which became La Fondation Nicolas-Hulot pour la nature et l'homme in 1995 and which changed its name to La Fondation pour la nature et l'homme (The Foundation for Nature and Mankind) in April 2011.
Hulot andGérard Feldzer, a former French airline pilot, experimented withairship prototypes originally developed by Didier Costes in 1992, and in 1993, the pair attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean fromSpain using an airship with pedals. The pair made it as far as 1,500 km before failing near theCape Verde Islands.[9][10]
Hulot set up partnerships for the Foundation with companies such asEDF,L'Oréal andTF1.[11] In 2006, theNational Museum of Natural History formed a partnership withLa Fondation pour la nature et l'homme, organising annual events to bring people together tocombat climate change.[12]
In 2013, the foundation launched athink tank based around ecology.[13]
In 2007, Nicolas Hulot told candidates in thepresidential election that he would stand as a candidate if ecology were not one of the main themes of the election. Some polls estimated his support at around 15%.[citation needed] In response to his announcement, five of the twelve candidates in the election, includingNicolas Sarkozy, signed hisPacte écologique (ecology pact), stating that ecological issues would be central to all future political decisions.[14]
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On 13 April 2011, while speaking inSevran,Seine-Saint-Denis, Nicolas Hulot announced his candidacy in the Europe Écologie-Les Verts primary for the 2012 French presidential election.[15] The announcement came a month after Hulot's calls for a referendum on nuclear energy following theFukushima nuclear accident.[16] Hulot was invited to a televised interview on theFrance Inter show7/9 by Bruno Duvic.[17]
Before the first round of the primary, some polls put Hulot ahead ofEva Joly, but he finally finished second with 40.22%, behind Joly with 49.75%. Hulot lost during the second round and Joly became the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts candidate.
For theFrench presidential election of 2012, Nicolas Hulot stated that he had voted for theLeft Front's candidate,Jean-Luc Mélenchon, during the first round. He said he found Melenchon more efficient on environmental issues than Joly. He supportedFrançois Hollande in the second round.[18]
On 17 May 2017, he was appointedMinister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition. This is following Hulot turning down offers for ministerial positions fromJacques Chirac,Nicolas Sarkozy andFrançois Hollande's governments.[1] The position's responsibilities are focused around climate, air pollution, energy and transport. (The latter being done in collaboration with Transport minister,Élisabeth Borne.)[19]
On 24 June 2017, he joinedEmmanuel Macron in calling for the adoption of aGlobal Pact for the Environment along with public figures such asLaurent Fabius,Anne Hidalgo,Arnold Schwarzenegger, andBan Ki-moon.[20]
On 6 July 2017, Hulot announced the government's five-year plan to outlaw all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.[21] The plan would also attempt to make France carbon-neutral by 2050. Financial incentives would be offered to people who try to look for cleaner alternatives.[22] This followed a proposal byNorway to ban all petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2025.[23]
On 10 July 2017, Hulot said onRTL Radio that France may close up to 17 nuclear reactors by 2025 in a new plan to reduce its share of nuclear power.[24] Liberal think-tankInstitut Montaigne released a report stating that the plan to convert from nuclear energy to wind and solar will cost €217 billion by 2035.[25] In 2016, France'sCourt of Audit estimated that prolonging the lifespan of France's nuclear reactors would cost €100 billion.[26] France currently derives 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.[27]
In December 2017, to combatglobal warming, France adopted a law banning newfossil fuel exploitation projects and closing current ones by 2040 in all of its territories, becoming the first country to schedule the end offossil fuel exploitation.[28][29]
On 28 August 2018, Hulot resigned as Minister of Ecology during a live interview onFrance Inter radio, citingPresidentEmmanuel Macron's record on environmental issues and his own frustration over feeling alone in prioritising reform.[3] He said that his time in office had been an "accumulation of disappointments",[3] and that he did not want to "create the illusion that we're facing up to these challenges".[30]The Guardian wrote that "Hulot's departure is a major blow to Macron and calls into question the president's credibility on the environment".[31]
Nicolas Hulot received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from theUniversity of Mons in 2019.[32]
Hulot has been criticised by some commentators, likeLe Canard enchaîné and supporters ofuneconomic growth andpolitical ecology, who have criticised his use of the media and acceptance of funds from large firms, likeEDF,L'Oréal andRhône-Poulenc.[33][34]
Hulot was in a relationship with Dominique Cantien, the TF1 director.[citation needed] Hulot married world champion rock-climberIsabelle Patissier inSaint-Malo on 2 September 1993. Hulot and Patissier divorced on 9 April 1996. Hulot remarried in Viens on 2 October 2002 to Florence Lasserre, a former municipal councillor and mother to his two sons.[35]
In 2017, Hulot declared a personal wealth of over €7 million and stated he owned six cars.[36]
In February 2018, French magazineEbdo [fr] reported that Hulot had been accused of sexual assault, related to events that took place in the 1990s.[37] The accuser was later reported to bePascale Mitterrand, granddaughter of former PresidentFrançois Mitterrand. Mitterrand had filed a police report in 2008, but no judicial charges were laid because the statute of limitations had run out.[38]
In 2021, French investigative news showEnvoyé spécial announced that it would be releasing a documentary in which a further six women accused Hulot of assaulting them.[39] Before the broadcast of the documentary, Hulot appeared onBFM TV to deny the allegations and to announce that he would be retiring from public life.[40] The documentary was screened, in which four women detailed their allegations, and subsequently reported.[41]
Hulot's job title, "minister of ecology and solidarity", does not mention energy, but government sources told Reuters he will be responsible for energy matters.
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