Christmas at the time of the ecological emergency. If the Christmas tree continues to be part of the decorum of this traditional festival, some want to limit its ecological footprint as in Bordeaux. Elsewhere, elected officials are rethinking menus and eliminating foie gras. As for the presents, they are no longer brand new.
Get out of the consumerist Christmas frenzy and get back to basics. This is the choice made by some elected officials like in Bordeaux where Pierre Hurmic decided to install a different tree in his city. A monumental tree made of recycled glass and steel and shaped by ” local craftsmen ” will thus adorn the Place Pey-Berland in the great metropolis of the South-West. The work can be reassembled every year, specifies its designer, Bordeaux designer Arnaud Lapierre. More ecological and symbolically strong, this choice earned the elected official an outcry last year.
If the famous thorn tree is a must for some of the French, it nevertheless has a significant environmental impact. The nearly six million conifers sold each year at Christmas come above all from large areas of forests, cultivated mainly in intensive monocultures, without any biological richness but with great reinforcements of fertilizers and pesticides. As for the artificial plastic alternatives, they are above all made of petroleum and imported from China. The best is therefore trees made with recycled materials, such as the Bordeaux tree, or even to make them yourself as a family with recovered materials.
In addition, books, toys, clothes, sporting goods … placed under the tree will be, even more than in previous years, second-hand. According to a survey conducted by Kantar for eBay, 53% of consumers will go for the second-hand supply side for their end-of-year gifts, up from 50% last year.
” Many people today are sensitive to second-hand items, it becomes elegant to buy second-hand clothes or toys, it gives them a form of added value “, indicates the sociologist Jean Viard.
After every tragedy, people get up and there are creative energies
Another symbol of the end of the year celebrations: foie gras. He will no longer be enthroned on certain tables during these festivities. Indeed, the town hall of Grenoble has decided to ban this dish from its end-of-year celebrations, whether on the menus of canteens or official events in the city. The city was the first in France to do so, says Sandra Krief, city councilor of the metropolis, on Twitter.
Likewise, the towns of Villeurbanne and Strasbourg have also made this choice. Quoted in a press release, the mayor of the city, Jeanne Barseghian (EELV), explains the end of this practice ” for the sake of eco-responsibility and setting an example . It is a matter of using local, seasonal products as a priority. , with attention paid to animal welfare , ”explains the chosen one.
” The values of society are evolving “, indicates Jean Viard, research director at CNRS. ” People have understood the climate emergency and the need to change our ways of living, with nearly 10% of French people who are changing their life, spouse, neighborhood, profession, etc … “, adds the author from “The revolution we expected has arrived” (L’Aube). ” After each tragedy, people get up and there are creative energies. During the pandemic, people experienced the fear of death and today room for creativity. But what stories are we doing to release these energies? creators?”Asks the sociologist who is awaiting a response from artists, musicians or directors. In the meantime, elected officials have seized on Christmas traditions, to change certain symbols.