To run a successful campaign, some candidates in the upcoming French municipal elections will need to prepare a strong environmental platform. In Miquelon, a village of 600 residents in the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon archipelago south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, voters are certain to raise questions about relocating their community, which is too exposed to tropical storms moving up the North Atlantic, such as Hurricane Fiona in 2022. In the heart of the Arly gorges in southeastern Savoie, drivers will likely want to know what will happen to the D1212 departmental road, which was closed in November due to landslides caused by thawing in winter. In the northern city of Blendecques, disaster victims may think about the repeated flooding of the winter of 2023-2024 as they cast their ballots.

“Climate disruption is happening even faster in the mountains than in the lowlands (…) and residents in our regions have been well aware of the changes over the past 10 years,” said MP Jean-Pierre Vigier, president of the National Association of Elected Officials from Mountain Regions (ANEM).

You have 84.23% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.