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| Despite Internal Struggles, France Sees Bright Spot as a Successful Host | Despite Internal Struggles, France Sees Bright Spot as a Successful Host |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — The world has grown accustomed to the sight of French officials on television bearing somber tidings about terrorist attacks, death tolls and police raids. But on Saturday evening, France’s top leaders were seen worldwide doing something very different: grinning, hugging and cheering as the representatives from 195 nations reached a landmark agreement on climate change. | PARIS — The world has grown accustomed to the sight of French officials on television bearing somber tidings about terrorist attacks, death tolls and police raids. But on Saturday evening, France’s top leaders were seen worldwide doing something very different: grinning, hugging and cheering as the representatives from 195 nations reached a landmark agreement on climate change. |
| “Thank you!” President François Hollande told the representatives in a conference center near Paris, who gave him and themselves a standing ovation. “Long live the United Nations, long live the planet, and long live France!” he added. | “Thank you!” President François Hollande told the representatives in a conference center near Paris, who gave him and themselves a standing ovation. “Long live the United Nations, long live the planet, and long live France!” he added. |
| This year has not been easy for France, beginning in January with the terrorist attacks on the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. More attacks, carried out or thwarted, plagued the country as the months unfolded, and events like the deadly Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps and the continuing migrant crisis near the Channel Tunnel did nothing to lighten the mood. | |
| Then in November, when France was struck at its heart by a coordinated team of Islamic State militants, the country entered an even grimmer phase of mourning and tightened security, amid fears of the radical group’s lengthening reach from its base in Syria and Iraq. | Then in November, when France was struck at its heart by a coordinated team of Islamic State militants, the country entered an even grimmer phase of mourning and tightened security, amid fears of the radical group’s lengthening reach from its base in Syria and Iraq. |
| So when Mr. Hollande told the delegates nearing the climax of the climate negotiations that they had a chance to change the world by sending a “message of life,” his plea was tinted with the hope that they would send another message as well — that finally, something good had happened in France. | So when Mr. Hollande told the delegates nearing the climax of the climate negotiations that they had a chance to change the world by sending a “message of life,” his plea was tinted with the hope that they would send another message as well — that finally, something good had happened in France. |
| “I will be personally happy, almost relieved, and even proud to see that message sent out from Paris,” Mr. Hollande said on Saturday in Le Bourget, just north of the French capital, after two weeks of intense negotiations. “Because Paris was badly hurt just one month ago.” | “I will be personally happy, almost relieved, and even proud to see that message sent out from Paris,” Mr. Hollande said on Saturday in Le Bourget, just north of the French capital, after two weeks of intense negotiations. “Because Paris was badly hurt just one month ago.” |
| While the climate agreement is only a first step in mitigating the effects of global warming, it is a significant one, and France worked hard to achieve it, using its embassies, consulates and cultural centers around the world to cultivate important players ahead of the negotiations. | While the climate agreement is only a first step in mitigating the effects of global warming, it is a significant one, and France worked hard to achieve it, using its embassies, consulates and cultural centers around the world to cultivate important players ahead of the negotiations. |
| France’s top climate envoy thought at length about details like food and lighting at the conference center, and the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, who presided over the conference, invested a great deal of his own time and effort. | |
| The French government brushed aside suggestions after the terrorist attacks that the conference be postponed for security reasons, a display of resilience that earned the country good will among the participants. | The French government brushed aside suggestions after the terrorist attacks that the conference be postponed for security reasons, a display of resilience that earned the country good will among the participants. |
| “Less than one month after the terrible terrorist attack in Paris, France has united the world to what will be the most significant global agreement on climate change,” Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Union’s commissioner for energy and climate action, said on Saturday. “This demonstrates the strength of the French nation and makes us all proud as Europeans.” | “Less than one month after the terrible terrorist attack in Paris, France has united the world to what will be the most significant global agreement on climate change,” Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Union’s commissioner for energy and climate action, said on Saturday. “This demonstrates the strength of the French nation and makes us all proud as Europeans.” |
| As the government repeatedly emphasized what was at stake, awareness of the event in the city translated into a sense of communal responsibility among some Parisians. Hundreds of specially hired transit workers in bright green vests and caps helped shepherd visitors through Paris’s maze of public transportation, distributing maps, leaflets and fare cards and posting giant green directional arrows in railway stations and airport terminals. | As the government repeatedly emphasized what was at stake, awareness of the event in the city translated into a sense of communal responsibility among some Parisians. Hundreds of specially hired transit workers in bright green vests and caps helped shepherd visitors through Paris’s maze of public transportation, distributing maps, leaflets and fare cards and posting giant green directional arrows in railway stations and airport terminals. |
| At Le Bourget, Adèle Dubrulle said that she had not previously been particularly aware of the climate issue, but she brought her son to take part in a small rally outside the conference to urge the negotiators on. | At Le Bourget, Adèle Dubrulle said that she had not previously been particularly aware of the climate issue, but she brought her son to take part in a small rally outside the conference to urge the negotiators on. |
| “I began to understand that this is a real problem, and that we have a real opportunity, with the meeting taking place here, to do something about it,” Ms. Dubrulle said. “I know that it is complicated and many of the key elements took place before the delegates even arrived here, but I just felt the need to respond in some way.” | “I began to understand that this is a real problem, and that we have a real opportunity, with the meeting taking place here, to do something about it,” Ms. Dubrulle said. “I know that it is complicated and many of the key elements took place before the delegates even arrived here, but I just felt the need to respond in some way.” |
| Whether France’s success in holding the climate talks will result in any more lasting gains on other fronts remains to be seen. | Whether France’s success in holding the climate talks will result in any more lasting gains on other fronts remains to be seen. |
| Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said the government could be proud of the outcome and of how smoothly the conference was run, but those may prove to be little more than symbolic badges of honor. | Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said the government could be proud of the outcome and of how smoothly the conference was run, but those may prove to be little more than symbolic badges of honor. |
| “It is a real success, and rightly hailed as so, but it isn’t a fundamentally political discussion that unblocks other issues,” Mr. Grand said. “It isn’t because you were able to push over 180 countries to mobilize on climate change today that you are going to be able to push 30 countries to agree on Syria tomorrow.” | “It is a real success, and rightly hailed as so, but it isn’t a fundamentally political discussion that unblocks other issues,” Mr. Grand said. “It isn’t because you were able to push over 180 countries to mobilize on climate change today that you are going to be able to push 30 countries to agree on Syria tomorrow.” |
| Domestically, Mr. Grand said, the climate deal may help Mr. Hollande’s Socialist government renew its frayed ties with France’s Green Party, but will do little else to bolster the president’s standing at home, where he has struggled with a weak economy and high unemployment since he took office in 2012. | Domestically, Mr. Grand said, the climate deal may help Mr. Hollande’s Socialist government renew its frayed ties with France’s Green Party, but will do little else to bolster the president’s standing at home, where he has struggled with a weak economy and high unemployment since he took office in 2012. |
| In France, he said, “you can win wars, succeed in big international negotiations and be widely recognized as an influential world leader, but it has never enabled anybody to win a presidential election.” | |
| The Socialists have not fared as well in the current political climate as other parties have, especially on the right. The extreme right-wing National Front capitalized on the attacks and the refugee crisis to post major gains in the first round of regional elections. Though it did not do as well in the final round on Sunday as initially expected, it is likely to remain a big thorn in Mr. Hollande’s side for the presidential election in 2017. | The Socialists have not fared as well in the current political climate as other parties have, especially on the right. The extreme right-wing National Front capitalized on the attacks and the refugee crisis to post major gains in the first round of regional elections. Though it did not do as well in the final round on Sunday as initially expected, it is likely to remain a big thorn in Mr. Hollande’s side for the presidential election in 2017. |
| The climate conference might have given Mr. Hollande and Mr. Fabius a chance to shine on the world stage, but Parisians voting near Place de la République, where people continue to mourn the victims killed on Nov. 13, did not feel that they were basking in the same limelight. | |
| Some, like Nicole Blanchard, praised the climate conference, even if they thought it had not gone far enough. Ms. Blanchard, a 70-year-old artist, said she had followed the talks and was “delighted” by the global participation, saying that efforts to slow global warming “might be the most important issue right now.” | Some, like Nicole Blanchard, praised the climate conference, even if they thought it had not gone far enough. Ms. Blanchard, a 70-year-old artist, said she had followed the talks and was “delighted” by the global participation, saying that efforts to slow global warming “might be the most important issue right now.” |
| Others were less impressed. Élodie Hervier, a 24-year-old theater student, said she was still reeling from the attacks and had not followed the climate conference very closely. | Others were less impressed. Élodie Hervier, a 24-year-old theater student, said she was still reeling from the attacks and had not followed the climate conference very closely. |
| Lionel Autissier, a 38-year-old store manager, said that the attacks were still fresh in his memory and that the climate talks were “just a facade.” | Lionel Autissier, a 38-year-old store manager, said that the attacks were still fresh in his memory and that the climate talks were “just a facade.” |
| “I don’t really think that the conference gives France a boost,” he said. | “I don’t really think that the conference gives France a boost,” he said. |
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