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Ecology Democracy Solidarity group
Groupe Écologie Democratie Solidarité
Ecology Democracy Solidarity group; Groupe Écologie Democratie Solidarité
Chamber	National Assembly
Legislature(s)	15th (Fifth Republic)
Foundation	19 May 2020
Dissolution	17 October 2020
Member parties	Ecology Generation; Movement of Progressives
President	Paula Forteza; Matthieu Orphelin
Vice presidents	Delphine Batho; Cédric Villani
Ideology	Environmentalism
Website	ecologie-democratie-solidarite.fr

Ecology Democracy Solidarity (French: Écologie Démocratie Solidarité) was a centre-left parliamentary group in the National Assembly of France. It was formed in May 2020 by members of La République En Marche!, a liberal parliamentary group. After losing three members in the span of two months, the group was forcibly dissolved in October 2020 because it didn’t have enough members. It then became The New Democrats.

History

On 8 May 2020, Ecology Democracy Solidarity was announced as a new parliamentary group, planned to launch on 1 June 2020. At the time, it was said to have 58 members,^[1]^[2] but the anticipated number fell to 20^[3] after intense pressure on potential defectors to stay in the La République En Marche group.^[4]

The group was officially formed on 19 May 2020 with 17 deputies, seven of which directly defected from La République En Marche! whereas nine had previously left it or been expelled from it. Delphine Batho, president of Ecology Generation and first elected as a Socialist Party deputy, also joined the group. The party's co-presidents were announced as Paula Forteza and Matthieu Orphelin, with Cédric Villani and Delphine Batho serving as vice-presidents.^[5]

Although La République En Marche! held a 313 deputies and a majority in the National Assembly after the 2017 French legislative election, previous defections had reduced their numbers and the formation of Ecology Democracy Solidarity left La République En Marche! with 288 seats, one short of a majority,^[4] although the governing coalition still held a majority. The group said it would be "independent" and sit "neither in the majority nor in the opposition".^[6]

After the departure of Sabine Thillaye to MoDem and Martine Wonner to the Liberties and Territories (LT) group, membership was down to 15 deputies, the minimum number for a National Assembly group. Jennifer de Temmerman announced her departure for LT on 16 October 2020. With insufficient deputies, the group was dissolved on 17 October 2020,^[7] and the remaining members were de facto independents (French: 'non-inscrits').^[8]

The New Democrats was founded in December 2020.

Policy

The group launched with a 15-point manifesto, covering several green issues and inequality. Policies included a €5bn of funding for local authorities to use on green or social projects, tax reform and the possible restoration of France's wealth tax, a universal basic income, protection of animal rights, a constitutional commitment to climate preservation and biodiversity, compulsory paternity leave and the "reshoring" of industries in France and Europe.^[9]^[10]

Historical membership

Year	Seats	Change
2020	17 / 577
2020	16 / 577	1
2020	15 / 577	1

Members

The group's members were:

References

^ Cornudet, Cécile; Ficek, Isabelle (8 May 2020). "Le groupe En Marche en passe de se fracturer à l'Assemblée" [The En Marche group on the brink of fracturing at the Assembly]. Les Echos (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
^ Vignal, Par François (18 May 2020). "Frondeurs LREM : un mélange de " tactique " et de " valeurs "" [LREM slingers: a mixture of "tactics" and "values"]. Public Senat (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
^ Berrod, Nicolas (18 May 2020). "LREM perd sa majorité absolue : ce que ça change (ou non) à l'Assemblée" [LREM loses its absolute majority: what it changes (or not) at the Assembly]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Macron loses majority as defectors form new party". BBC News. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
^ Equy, Laure (17 May 2020). "Ressac de nœuds pour LREM" [Surf of nodes for LREM]. Libération (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
^ Tidey, Alice (19 May 2020). "French president Emmanuel Macron loses absolute majority in parliament". Euronews. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
^ Quinault-Maupoil, Tristan (2020-10-16). "Jennifer de Temmerman : "Je quitte le groupe EDS" à l'Assemblée". Le Figaro.fr (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-16.
^ Modifications à la composition des groupes.
^ Caddeo, Cyprien (12 May 2020). "À l'Assemblée nationale, ce neuvième groupe qui ébranle les rangs macronistes" [In the National Assembly, this ninth group that shook the macronist ranks]. L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
^ Jardinaud, Manuel (19 May 2020). "Un neuvième groupe parlementaire veut revenir au "en même temps" originel" [Ninth parliamentary group wants to return to the original "at the same time"]. Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2020.