Friends of the Earth France is a left-of-center environmentalist organization that is the French counterpart of Friends of the Earth, an international environmentalist group that was started in 1969 by former Sierra Club executive director David Brower. ¹

Friends of the Earth France, which is comprised of 29 local groups, has sued energy company Total over projects in Tanzania and Uganda and the multinational bank BNP Paribas due to its “massive support to fossil fuels and for its substantial contribution to climate change.” ^{2 3}

Background

Friends of the Earth France is the French national organization of Friends of the Earth, an international environmentalist group that was started in 1969 by former Sierra Club executive director David Brower. The first three founding groups of Friends of the Earth were created in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The French national organization was founded by writer and journalist Alain Herve. ⁴

The organization assisted in forming Friends of the Earth International, the global network of national Friends of the Earth organizations. The network is active in 72 countries and, according to Friends of the Earth France’s website, claims approximately 1.5 million worldwide members. ⁵

Friends of the Earth France published its “Manifesto for Sustainable Societies” in 2011. According to its website, the manifesto “forms the basis of” the organization’s “field of action” to conduct “campaigns and mobilizations in favor of social and environmental justice.” ⁶

Friends of the Earth France is comprised of 29 local groups around the country. These groups are run by a federal council, which is comprised of members from at least four local groups. Those elected to the federal council are done so via member voting in federal assemblies held by the organization. ⁷

Political Activities

Friends of the Earth France used its influence to support the first environmentalist-focused candidate in French politics in 1974, Rene Dumont. While Dumont only received 1.32 percent of the votes, the organization declared that “the movement” was thereby launched, adding that ecology was “now a political issue.” ⁸

Activists from Friends of the Earth France forced the cancellation of the second day of the European Annual Gas Conference in 2019. The protesters infiltrated the hotel where the conference was being held and caused disruption, leading to the cancellation of the afternoon program and the evacuation of the premises. ⁹

Six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including Friends of the Earth France, sued energy company Total over an oil project in Tanzania and Uganda.¹⁰ Under the 2017 French Duty of Vigilance Law, companies must identify and prevent human rights and environmental violations in business practices. Friends of the Earth France claimed that Total did not account for the “social and environmental impacts” of the project. The organization also claimed that around 100,000 people would be displaced by the project. ¹¹

The judges presiding over the case rejected Friends of the Earth France’s request to suspend Total’s project. The decision did not address the core merits of the complaint and will have to be examined by another judge. ¹²

Friends of the Earth France, alongside Notre Affaire à Tous and Oxfam France, also sued the multinational bank BNP Paribas in February 2023 due to its “massive support to fossil fuels and for its substantial contribution to climate change.” ¹³

Affiliated Organizations

Friends of the Earth France is affiliated with several left-of-center organizations. These organizations include the Association for Consultation and Proposal for Planning and Transport, “climate and social justice” organization Alternatiba, and environmentalist organization Reclaim France. ¹⁴

1. “Histoire.” Les Amis de la Terre. March 28, 1978. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/une-histoire-des-victoires/.
2. “French NGOs take BNP Paribas to court in world’s first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank.” Oxfam International. February 23, 2023. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/french-ngos-take-bnp-paribas-court-worlds-first-climate-lawsuit-against-commercial.
3. “Friends of the Earth et al. v. Total.” Climate Change Litigation. Accessed July 17, 2023. http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/friends-of-the-earth-et-al-v-total/.
4. “Histoire.” Les Amis de la Terre. March 28, 1978. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/une-histoire-des-victoires/.
5. ^[1] “Histoire.” Les Amis de la Terre. March 28, 1978. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/une-histoire-des-victoires/.
6. “Manifeste Pour des sociétés soutenables.” Les Amis de la Terre. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/publication/manifeste-pour-des-societes-soutenables/.
7. “Équipes et fonctionnement.” Les Amis de la Terre. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/equipes-et-fonctionnement/.
8. “Histoire.” Les Amis de la Terre. March 28, 1978. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/une-histoire-des-victoires/.
9. “French climate activists disrupt gas industry conference.” June 11, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://friendsoftheearth.eu/news/climate-activists-disrupt-gas-industry-conference/.
10. “Friends of the Earth et al. v. Total.” Climate Change Litigation. Accessed July 17, 2023. http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/friends-of-the-earth-et-al-v-total/.
11. “Friends of the Earth et al. v. Total.” Climate Change Litigation. Accessed July 17, 2023. http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/friends-of-the-earth-et-al-v-total/.
12. “French court pushes back on Total case in tide of climate litigation.” Financial Times. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www-ft-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/content/10bae5b1-c19f-4b4e-b298-cfd88ed1ec89.
13. “French NGOs take BNP Paribas to court in world’s first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank.” Oxfam International. February 23, 2023. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/french-ngos-take-bnp-paribas-court-worlds-first-climate-lawsuit-against-commercial.
14. “Équipes et fonctionnement.” Les Amis de la Terre. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.amisdelaterre.org/nous-connaitre/equipes-et-fonctionnement/.