Green Deal Goes Citizens: discover France’s grassroots green innovations

As part of our international cooperation on sustainable transitions in the Green Deal Goes Citizens, the French national report highlights a vibrant mosaic of citizen-led initiatives that are contributing to the more sustainable future. Far from high-level strategies, these are down-to-earth practices rooted in communities—offering affordable, democratic, and ecological alternatives across housing, food, energy, and mobility.

Take housing cooperatives, for instance: these shared living arrangements offer not only lower energy bills and reduced carbon footprints, but also foster collective responsibility and community resilience. In the energy sector, citizen-powered solar projects like the Centrale Villageoise des 4 Montagnes show how entire communities can co-invest in clean energy and actively shape the local transition.

In food systems, cooperative supermarkets and AMAPs (community-supported agriculture schemes) are reconnecting consumers with producers, shortening supply chains, and promoting ethical consumption. One such store, La Grande Épicerie Générale, thrives on a model where members contribute a few hours of service monthly to maintain low prices and community ownership.

The report also brings attention to innovative tools such as local currencies (like the Florain in Nancy), which boost small businesses while keeping money circulating within the region. And let’s not forget recycleries, bike repair workshops, and urban agriculture associations—creative hubs that link sustainability with solidarity, repair culture, and public education.

From participative governance to low-tech innovation, these initiatives prove that systemic change can grow from the ground up. They offer replicable, inspiring models for communities across Europe—and beyond.

Read the full report to explore the practices, legal frameworks, and real-world impacts shaping a more just and sustainable future in France.