and Ushuaïa Nature (1998–2012). Hulot's contract with TF1 ended in December 2011 though four of the remaining Ushuaïa Nature episodes aired in 2012. Fondation Nicolas Hulot In 1990, Hulot founded the Ushuaia Foundation which became La Fondation Nicolas-Hulot pour la nature et l'homme in 1995 and which changed its name to La Fondation pour la nature et l'homme (The Foundation for Nature and Mankind) in April 2011. Hulot and Gérard Feldzer, a former French airline pilot, experimented with airship prototypes originally developed by Didier Costes in 1992, and in 1993, the pair attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Spain using an airship with pedals. The pair made it as far as 1,500 km before failing near the Cape Verde Islands. Hulot set up partnerships for the Foundation with companies such as EDF, L'Oréal and TF1. In 2006, the National Museum of Natural History formed a partnership with La Fondation pour la nature et l'homme, organising annual events to bring people together to combat climate change. In 2013, the foundation launched a think tank based around ecology. Political activities In 2007, Nicolas Hulot told candidates in the presidential election that he would stand as a candidate if ecology were not one of the main themes of the election. Some polls estimated his support at around 15%. In response to his announcement, five of the twelve candidates in the election, including Nicolas Sarkozy, signed his Pacte écologique (ecology pact), stating that ecological issues would be central to all future political decisions. 2011 Europe Écologie-Les Verts primary On 13 April 2011, while speaking in Sevran, Seine-Saint-Denis, Nicolas Hulot announced his candidacy in the Europe Écologie-Les Verts primary for the 2012 French presidential election. The announcement came a month after Hulot's calls for a referendum on nuclear energy following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Hulot was invited to a televised interview on the France Inter show 7/9 by Bruno Duvic. Before the first round of the primary, some polls put Hulot ahead of Eva Joly, but he finally finished second with 40.22%, behind Joly with 49.75%. Hulot lost during the second round and Joly became the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts candidate. For the French presidential election of 2012, Nicolas Hulot stated that he had voted for the Left Front's candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, during the first round. He said he found Melenchon more efficient on environmental issues than Joly. He supported François Hollande in the second