01 June 2024

MEP rankings: 150 votes under the microscope
01 June 2024
With less than one week to go before the European elections, and after presenting an analysis of the ecological performance of political groups and national delegations in the European Parliament at the end of March, BLOOM is now unveiling the individual results of all MEPs who sat during the last electoral term.
The French front-runners for the 9 June election are ranked from best to worst, with a very wide range of scores: while Marie Toussaint tops the list with a perfect 20/20, Jordan Bardella closes with a catastrophic 3.9/20.
We meticulously evaluated the votes of outgoing MEPs on the following crucial issues: ocean preservation and artisanal fishing, the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture, and, finally, the promotion of environmental justice and rights.
Our analysis (available on our website iPolitics) reveals the details of the votes of outgoing MEPs on some of the most burning issues over the last five years and highlights the irresponsible positions and hypocrisies of some candidates designated at the top of the list of their parties:
THE RASSEMBLEMENT NATIONAL (NATIONAL RALLY) AND THE REPUBLICANS NECK AND NECK ON ECOLOGICAL ISSUES
Marine Le Pen’s party, led at EU level by Jordan Bardella and member of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, represents an absolute disaster on all ecological issues. Of the 90 French MEPs who sat in the European Parliament during the last parliamentary term, the 24 worst performers in our ranking are all members of the RN (1) or have been in the past.
- Jordan Bardella, with just 3.9/20, appears to be the worst of the French head-of-list candidates, and one of the worst MEPs in our analysis in absolute terms. In particular, he voted to protect subsidies harmful to the environment and climate, i.e. in favor of using European money for highly polluting companies (several votes to this effect). See details of his votes on our website.
The Republicans have not performed much better, with all their representatives scoring below 6.5/20.
- François-Xavier Bellamy, the group’s leader for the June 9 elections, scored a catastrophic 5.1/20. He is the worst of all The Republicans’ MEPs, scoring only 1.2 points more than Jordan Bardella. In particular, François-Xavier Bellamy has strongly supported a whole series of measures that favor industrial fishing, going against the interests of thousands of French and European artisanal fishers and promoting the devastation of our seas.
A FRONTRUNNER LED BY THE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL LEFT
While the French right has fallen into climate denial, turning a blind eye to science and opposing the protection of the health of citizens and of the planet, the situation is diametrically opposed on the left of Parliament. Indeed, France’s leaders have proved to be among the best on the continent:
- The French Socialists are the driving force among the European Socialists in the S&D group, with Raphaël Glucksmann scoring 19.8/20;
- France Insoumise confirms the strength of its green wing with, among others, Manon Aubry and her score of 19.9/20;
- Marie Toussaint smashes the scores with 20/20! It’s worth noting that half of France’s Green MEPs have 20/20 on the mandate.
ECOLOGY, AN ISSUE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE FOR THE RENAISSANCE GROUP
For her part, Valérie Hayer, leader of Renaissance and president of the liberal Renew group, came out on top with 14.6/20. This score, well behind those of the leading group of the social-ecological left, shows that the Renew group does not constitute a credible and determined alternative to defend the protection of nature and workers in Parliament. This was the case, for example, when it voted to remove the 1.5°C target as the main criterion for European trade policy. A major blow to the ambition of the Paris Agreements. Or worse still, during discussions on the Green Pact, when the group voted against “the fundamental right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and a stable climate, without discrimination” for Europeans. Find out more about her votes on our website.
Detailed results for the 853 MEPs who have sat in the European Parliament over the last five years are available on our iPolitics website. In addition, details of the votes cast by each MEP for each of the 150 amendments and votes we analyzed as part of this analysis are also available. BLOOM’s tool is designed to enable journalists and all voters to find out exactly how MEPs have voted over the last five years, and who exactly has stood up for the health of citizens and the planet.
NOTES
(1) The only exception is The Rebublicans MEP Laurence Sailliet, who with 1.3/30, is the worst French MEP. However, having taken office on 14/09/2023, Ms. Sailliet only participated in 10% of the votes we analyzed.