Marie Toussaint
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for France
Assumed office
2 July 2019[1][2]
Personal details
Born (1987-05-27) 27 May 1987 (age 36)
Lille, France
Political partyEELV
Alma materSciences Po
ProfessionJurist

Marie Toussaint (born 27 May 1987 in Lille) is a French jurist and politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019.[3]

Early life and education

Born in Lille in 1987, Toussaint is the daughter of a sailor and a professor of economics in technical high school, both involved in the International Movement ATD Fourth World. She grew up in Bordeaux. After graduating, she joined Sciences Po through priority education agreements. She also holds a master's degree in international environmental law.[4]

Political career

At the age of 18, Tousaint entered politics at Europe Ecology – The Greens and became co-secretary of the Young Ecologists in 2011. At the same time, she volunteered for the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, launched by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa for the preservation of Yasuni National Park.[5]

In 2015, Toussaint founded Notre affaire à tous, an NGO defending a right to climate justice. Together with Oxfam France, Greenpeace France and the Foundation for Nature and Man,[6] their national climate justice campaign "Affaire du siècle" was launched on December 17, 2018 to sue the state for its inaction in the fight against global warming. The associated petition became the most signed in France in less than a week, collecting 2 million signatories in a month.[7]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present

Marie Toussaint presenting herself in a video produced by Heinrich Böll Foundation/Green European Foundation.

During the 2019 European Parliament election, Toussaint was in fourth place on the EELV's list of candidates.[8] She has since been serving on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

In addition to her committee assignments, Toussaint is part of the Parliament's delegations for relations with the United States and to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat).[9] She is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Anti-Corruption,[10] the European Parliament Intergroup on Anti-Racism and Diversity,[11] the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development,[12] the European Parliament Intergroup on Fighting against Poverty,[13] the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights,[14] the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals[15] and the Responsible Business Conduct Working Group.[16]

She is leading the EU’s environmental crime directive for the Greens in the Parliament and supports protection of the environment through criminal law, including ecocide being made a crime in the EU.[17]

In March 2024, Toussaint was one of twenty MEPs to be given a "Rising Star" award at The Parliament Magazine's annual MEP Awards[18]

Political positions

In May 2021, Toussaint joined a group of 39 mostly Green Party lawmakers from the European Parliament who in a letter urged the leaders of Germany, France and Italy not to support Arctic LNG 2, a $21 billion Russian Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, due to climate change concerns.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ Cazenave, Fabien (27 May 2019). "Élections européennes. Qui sont les 79 eurodéputés élus en France". Ouest France (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  4. ^ Aurélie Delmas (3 April 2019). "Marie Toussaint, woman and green born" (in French). Libération. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  5. ^ Mathieu Dejean (10 January 2019). "Marie Toussaint, the ecologist behind the most signed petition in the history of France" (in French). Les Inrockuptibles. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  6. ^ Aude Lorriaux (29 January 2019). "Marie Toussaint, activist behind the petition "L'Affaire du Siècle"" (in French). Marie Claire. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  7. ^ Carole-Anne Sénit (29 December 2018). "Petition "L'Affaire du Siècle": "This mobilization contributes to the emergence of an ecological citizenship"" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  8. ^ M. Del. (26 May 2019). "Lille : The ecologist Marie Toussaint elected to the European Parliament" (in French). La Voix du Nord. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  9. ^ Marie Toussaint European Parliament.
  10. ^ Intergroup on Anti-Corruption European Parliament.
  11. ^ Intergroup on Anti-Racism and Diversity European Parliament.
  12. ^ Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development European Parliament.
  13. ^ Intergroup on Fighting against Poverty European Parliament.
  14. ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights.
  15. ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.
  16. ^ Members Responsible Business Conduct Working Group.
  17. ^ "Parliament adds ecocide to EU's draft list of environmental crimes". www.euractiv.com. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  18. ^ "MEP Awards 2024 - The Rising Stars". The Parliament Magazine. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  19. ^ Kate Abnett and Simon Jessop (19 May 2021), EU lawmakers urge France, Germany, Italy to ditch Arctic LNG 2 support Reuters.
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