As France swelters under a record-breaking heatwave with melting roads in Brittany and forests ablaze, a German journalist has sharply criticized the political class for its silence. In an article published by Courrier International, the journalist observes that politicians, usually so vocal, have remained mute on a crisis that ‘everyone sees, feels, and understands’. The government’s main response has been a public safety campaign featuring an animated character named Luc, who learns to safely barbecue. The journalist calls this a ‘pathetic background noise’ against the deafening political silence. The heatwave has caused asphalt to soften and stick to car tires in Brittany, while iconic forests have gone up in flames. The article argues that the silence stems from the climate issue being too vast for soundbites, leaving citizens to wander ‘like zombies in parks’. Critics say the government’s campaign trivializes the emergency and fails to address systemic climate adaptation.
Article and image source: courrierinternational.com
