Camille Étienne, born 29 May 1998 in Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, is a French environmental activist.
A member of the duo Avant l'orage (Before the Storm), along with director Solal Moisan, she takes part in and leads acts of civil disobedience, lobbying of political and economic decision makers and raising public awareness.
Biography
Family and education
Camille Étienne is originally from Savoie. She grew up in the village of Peisey-Nancroix. Her father is a mountain guide. Her mother was part of the French snowboard and climbing team before an accident ended her career.
As a young girl, Étienne wanted to become a judge in family law. She obtained a master's degree in Economics at Sciences Po, Paris, before spending her gap year devoted to activism.
Political activism
In 2018, she became spokesperson of the On est prêt collective. She spoke at the European Parliament, notably alongside Greta Thunberg, Belgians Adélaïde Charlier and Anuna De Wever and the German Luisa Neubauer.
It was at Sciences Po Paris that Étienne turned her attention to the climate crisis. She became president of the student branch of Amnesty International. She was also elected, in 2018, to the student organisation NOVA.
During lockdown, she created the collective 'Avant l'orage' (Before the Storm) which aims to bring together art and environmentalism. On 28 May 2020 the collective's YouTube channel released a video titled Wake Up. The video, filmed in the mountains, features the activist with a dancer and engineering graduate, Léa Durand. Étienne speaks about the climate emergency and reminds viewers, particularly those from Generation Y, on the need to act. Her words are accompanied by movements from the dancer. The video was a success, gaining 15 million views on various platforms and has been translated into Spanish, English, German and Portuguese.
In August 2020, while speaking at the Medef summer school, she suggested "working less, but maybe with more meaning" to "reinvent" the world of business. She also questions the economic growth model, which, according to her, pushes us to "produce too much", "exceed planetary limits" and so "directly endangers our lives".
On 10 February 2021, Étienne took part in a demonstration near the Élysée with politicians and activists including Matthieu Orphelin, Cécile Duflot, Marie Toussaint and Cyril Dion. See denounced the "lack of courage" from President Emmanuel Macron, who, according to her, "unraveled" the proposals of the Citizens Convention for Climate when drafting the 2021 loi Climat (Climate Law).
On 16 June 2021, she announced that, alongside activist Cyril Dion and MEP Pierre Larrouturou, she was filing a complaint against Jean Castex and four other ministers (Bruno Le Maire, Barbara Pompili, Emmanuelle Wargon and Jean-Baptiste Djebbari) for their inaction in the face of climate change. The French State having already been condemned on numerous occasions (most notably by the Affaire du siècle campaign), they argued that taking individual ministers to court would be a more effective action.
Étienne is also engaged in campaigns against greenhouse gas emissions, in particular the EACOP, the world's largest heated oil pipeline planned in East Africa by TotalEnergies and the Lutzerath mining site in Germany, as well as the exploitation of the seabed.
In May 2023, she published Pour un soulèvement écologique : dépasser notre impuissance collective (For an Ecological Uprising: Overcoming our Collective Helplessness).
In October 2023, she joined the fight against the planned A69 motorway linking Castres (Tarn) to Toulouse.
Fame
Vanity Fair name her one of the "50 French Women who made 2020", alongside Adèle Haenel and Virginie Despentes.
Technikart named her as one of the "100 who can save 2021".
Website Brut named her on a panel of "31 who made 2022 happen".
Films
- 2020 : Réveillons-nous, co-directed with Solal Moisan
- 2021 : Génération, co-directed with Solal Moisan
- 2022 : Glacier, co-directed with Solal Moisan
- 2022 : Désobéir, co-directed with Solal Moisan
- 2023 : Pourquoi on se bat, co-directed with Solal Moisan
- 2024 : PFAS : comment les industriels nous empoisonnent with Solal Moisan
References
- "Camille Etienne, 22 ans, porte-voix "hypersensible et hyperactive" de la "génération climat"". Le Monde. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021..
- "Savoie. Camille Étienne : "Les politiques ne sont pas à la hauteur des enjeux écologiques"". ledauphine.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020..
- "Camille Étienne, l'éclat de la génération climat". La Croix (in French). 7 April 2021. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- "Camille Étienne, activiste pour le climat : "L'écoanxiété est une réponse saine à un monde malade"". www.telerama.fr (in French). 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "Camille Étienne, la militante écolo de 22 ans qui a secoué le Medef". welcometothejungle.com. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020..
- "Climat : "On est dans la décennie où on peut, ou pas, faire basculer les choses", clame Camille Étienne". LCI. Retrieved 15 February 2021..
- "Camille Étienne : "Notre combat, c'est de déconstruire des mythes que nous prenons pour réels"". Pioche!. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- "Camille Étienne : "Notre génération traverse une crise existentielle démentielle"". L'Obs. Retrieved 1 December 2020..
- ^ "Elles s'engagent : Camille Étienne, 21 ans, militante pour le climat". Elle. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020..
- "Camille Étienne : "Notre combat, c'est de déconstruire des mythes que nous prenons pour réels"". Pioche!. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- Anaïs Moran; Thibaut Sardier (14 May 2023). "Camille Étienne: Qu'est-ce qu'on attend pour s'attaquer à l'ultrarichesse, à l'accaparement ?". Libération.
- Bossard, Adèle (13 October 2020). "#GénérationDemain : Camille Étienne, 22 ans et militante écologiste à temps plein". franceinter.fr. Retrieved 2 December 2020..
- "Camille et Solal réveillent les consciences écologiques : "On y est pour rien, et pourtant nous devenons complices"". Communes, régions, Belgique, monde, sports – Toute l'actu 24h/24 sur Lavenir.net. Retrieved 2 December 2020..
- Pierre Tremblay (27 August 2020). "Au Medef, cette jeune militante écolo imperturbable face aux ricanements". huffingtonpost. Retrieved 16 May 2023..
- Émilie Torgemen (10 February 2021). "Loi Climat : une manifestation devant l'Elysée contre un texte "pas à la hauteur des enjeux"". Le Parisien. Retrieved 15 February 2021..
- "Qui est Camille Étienne, la Greta Thunberg française ? – Quotidien avec Yann Barthès" (vid). MYTF1. Retrieved 15 February 2021..
- Sophie de Ravinel (10 February 2021). "Loi climat : un projet jugé trop timide par les écologistes". Le Figaro. Retrieved 15 February 2021..
- "Inaction climatique : plainte contre Jean Castex, Barbara Pompili et trois autres ministres". Actu-Environnement. Retrieved 2 July 2021..
- Deb, Chaymaa (24 March 2022). "Danse contre EACOP sur le parvis de Total". Natura Sciences (in French). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- Planavergne, Lucas (17 January 2023). "Allemagne : les affrontements à la mine de charbon de Lützerath, un double symbole". marianne.net. Retrieved 23 January 2023..
- "Camille Étienne, Marine Calmet, Julia Faure... 9 femmes qui innovent face à la crise climatique". Madame Figaro. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- "Camille Etienne : "Je ne crois pas que la violence soit du côté de ceux qui défendent leurs terres."". France Inter (in French). 27 February 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- Equy, Laure; Miquel, Julie Renson. "Chantier de l'A69 Toulouse-Castres : une réunion de médiation prévue mais peu d'illusions". Libération. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- "Les 50 Françaises les plus influentes en 2020". Vanity Fair (in French). 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- Epitalon, Violaine (4 January 2023). "Camille Étienne : éco-warrior". Technikart. Retrieved 6 April 2024..
- "Camille Étienne, activiste pour la justice climat biodiversité". Brut. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023..
- Pivain, Clémence (21 December 2022). "Camille Etienne, la jeune activiste de 24 ans qui secoue le monde politique". Outside.fr : l'aventure au coeur de l'actualité (in French). Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- "Camille Étienne: une voix pour la planète". Notretemps.com. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "Camille Etienne : "le climat n'est pas un combat de générations"". Même pas mal (in French). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "Justice climatique : un orchestre joue au pied d'un glacier". France Musique (in French). 22 December 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "DÉSOBÉIR – [court-métrage]" (in French). Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "Pourquoi on se bat en streaming gratuit | TV5MONDEplus". Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- PFAS : comment les industriels nous empoisonnent (in French). Retrieved 29 March 2024.