Conservative and far-right French lawmakers said they would boycott a meeting with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/teen-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-gets-amnesty-prize-225552">Swedish activist Greta Thunberg</a> and hurled insults at the 16-year-old who has inspired a global network of young climate protesters.

Thunberg has been invited by a cross-party group of politicians to attend a French parliament committee meeting and will watch a plenary session from the public gallery on Tuesday.

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Today we’re speaking at the National Assembly in Paris. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FridaysForFuture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FridaysForFuture</a> <a href="https://t.co/St62PqAD7H">pic.twitter.com/St62PqAD7H</a>
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1153607753396629505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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But after mocking Thunberg on social media in recent days, lawmakers from the conservative Les Republicains (LR) and far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parties said they would not attend the meeting.

"I call on my colleagues to boycott Greta Thunberg. We do not need gurus of the apocalypse," Guillaume Larrive, who is running to be the leader of Les Republicains, said on Twitter.

Recent months have seen millions of young people worldwide walk out of school on Fridays to back Thunberg's demands for urgent action from governments to curb carbon emissions.

Julien Aubert, another candidate to lead the party, which turned in its worst-ever performance in European elections in May and finished behind the Greens, tweeted: "Do not count on me to go and applaud a prophetess in shorts, Nobel prize of fear."

Thunberg began a climate protest outside the Swedish parliament last August. The Fridays for Future school strike movement has since spread to more than 100 countries.

"Using children to hawk a fatalist message about the world going up in flames, and skipping school and going on strike, that is a deeply defeatist approach," Jordan Bardella, an RN member of the European Parliament, told France 2 television.

"You cannot bring in the Joan of Arc of climate change while parliament is voting on the EU-Canada trade deal."

The French parliament is expected to approve on Tuesday the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which has been criticised by environmentalists.

But any abstentions or no-votes among President Emmanuel Macron's centrist LREM party, which has a comfortable majority, would be damaging for Macron, who has been criticised for taking little action against climate change.

Green MPs, as well as government ministers, defended Thunberg and the fight against global warming, which the government has said will be a priority of the second part of Macron's mandate.

"Boycotting the speech of a 16-year old girl, what are they afraid of?" junior environment minister Brune Poirson told Le Parisien newspaper.

"We need whistleblowers like her."

Conservative and far-right French lawmakers said they would boycott a meeting with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and hurled insults at the 16-year-old who has inspired a global network of young climate protesters.

Conservative and far-right French lawmakers said they would boycott a meeting with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and hurled insults at the 16-year-old who has inspired a global network of young climate protesters. Thunberg has been invited by a cross-party group of politicians to attend a French parliament committee meeting and will watch a plenary session from the public gallery on Tuesday. Today we’re speaking at the National Assembly in Paris. #FridaysForFuture pic.twitter.com/St62PqAD7H — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 23, 2019 × But after mocking Thunberg on social media in recent days, lawmakers from the conservative Les Republicains (LR) and far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parties said they would not attend the meeting. "I call on my colleagues to boycott Greta Thunberg. We do not need gurus of the apocalypse," Guillaume Larrive, who is running to be the leader of Les Republicains, said on Twitter. Recent months have seen millions of young people worldwide walk out of school on Fridays to back Thunberg's demands for urgent action from governments to curb carbon emissions. Julien Aubert, another candidate to lead the party, which turned in its worst-ever performance in European elections in May and finished behind the Greens, tweeted: "Do not count on me to go and applaud a prophetess in shorts, Nobel prize of fear." Thunberg began a climate protest outside the Swedish parliament last August. The Fridays for Future school strike movement has since spread to more than 100 countries. "Using children to hawk a fatalist message about the world going up in flames, and skipping school and going on strike, that is a deeply defeatist approach," Jordan Bardella, an RN member of the European Parliament, told France 2 television. "You cannot bring in the Joan of Arc of climate change while parliament is voting on the EU-Canada trade deal." The French parliament is expected to approve on Tuesday the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which has been criticised by environmentalists. But any abstentions or no-votes among President Emmanuel Macron's centrist LREM party, which has a comfortable majority, would be damaging for Macron, who has been criticised for taking little action against climate change. Green MPs, as well as government ministers, defended Thunberg and the fight against global warming, which the government has said will be a priority of the second part of Macron's mandate. "Boycotting the speech of a 16-year old girl, what are they afraid of?" junior environment minister Brune Poirson told Le Parisien newspaper. "We need whistleblowers like her."

French right-wingers to shun 16-year-old Greta Thunberg in Parliament

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to quit his role as head of France&#39;s Les Republicains party on Saturday, setting up a potential bid to become head of state for a second time. 
 
Supporters of Les Republicains and other Right and Centre-Right parties will vote in November to decide who will be their candidate in the 2017 presidential election. 
 
The winner will face the far-right National Front&#39;s Marine Le Pen and a Socialist candidate, likely to be President Francois Hollande. 
 
Sarkozy would not be able to run in those presidential primaries if he remained head of the party. He would need to resign two weeks before the application deadline on September 9. 
 
&quot;This national council will be my last one as president of Les Republicains,&quot; he told a party meeting, calling for a fair contest and no acrimony between the potential nominees. 
 
&quot;This primary will be a time of competition between some strong personalities, between people of significant talent,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;When the right goes into battle it has a front on the left and a front on the extreme right. That is why it is unacceptable that we should attack each other.&quot; 
 
For much of this year, Centre-Right rival Alain Juppe has outpaced Sarkozy in opinion polls, but the man who was president between 2007 and 2012 is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed, a sign the battle could be more open than many thought. 
 
(Reuters)

The former president is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to quit his role as head of France's Les Republicains party on Saturday, setting up a potential bid to become head of state for a second time. Supporters of Les Republicains and other Right and Centre-Right parties will vote in November to decide who will be their candidate in the 2017 presidential election. The winner will face the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen and a Socialist candidate, likely to be President Francois Hollande. Sarkozy would not be able to run in those presidential primaries if he remained head of the party. He would need to resign two weeks before the application deadline on September 9. "This national council will be my last one as president of Les Republicains," he told a party meeting, calling for a fair contest and no acrimony between the potential nominees. "This primary will be a time of competition between some strong personalities, between people of significant talent," he said. "When the right goes into battle it has a front on the left and a front on the extreme right. That is why it is unacceptable that we should attack each other." For much of this year, Centre-Right rival Alain Juppe has outpaced Sarkozy in opinion polls, but the man who was president between 2007 and 2012 is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed, a sign the battle could be more open than many thought. (Reuters)

Sarkozy sets up French presidential bid by quitting party role

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French right-wingers to shun 16-year-old Greta Thunberg in Parliament

Sarkozy sets up French presidential bid by quitting party role