Homme's Home

I am not sure what real impact HOME will have on l'Homme. But the producers of Yann Arthus-Bertrand's film which has just been released today, on World Environment Day, have managed to create great worldwide expectation. I've seen only trailers and promotional clips so far; I'll watch the entire film as soon as I get the time.

It's early day to know what real impact the film will have; whether it can compare with Al Gore's Unconvenient Truth, for example.

But it's interesting to see that the producers have thought big and global, and beyond boundaries of France. As a French environmentalist who spends the vast majority of my time outside my country of origin, I think I am entitled to say that there is a regrettable tendency among French environmentalists to lock themselves in domestic stuff, to stay franco-français as they say. Quite a paradox when you deal with environmental issues that are global in nature. The so-called Grenelle de l'Environnement, a multistakeholders dialogue promoted by the Sarkozy administration is a good example of this: little thought has apparently been given to its projection outside of France, hence when French environmentalists and civil servants are trying to share their experience outside the country they often talk of "the Grenelle" without bothering to explain the meaning and history of this word.

I may be wrong, but since Jacques-Yves Cousteau's pioneering films I can't remember a French environmental film, with the possible exception of Jacques Perrin, targetting in earnest the global community like Home is trying. This alone is something to celebrate.