EDF's 100% nationalization will allow us to respond more quickly to an energy crisis that will become a "significant problem" over the coming months. According to Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, cutting off Russian gas supplies is "the most likely option".
The plan to increase the capital of electrician from 84% to 100 percent "changes many things because there's many projects that can sometimes take a couple of weeks or months longer, because debates which are legit from the moment there's a share of shareholders other than state shareholders, "explained minister to journalists in the context of the Economic Meetings of Aix-en-Provence.
He said, "There you'll have complete unity of command." He added, "This allows us take quicker decisions on the strategic topic of carbon-free electricity generation in France."
Minister says that the energy crisis will be "the most important topic of the next months". It is essential to plan for a complete cut in gas supplies. After four and a quarter months of war, the Russian president declared Thursday that Russia has "not yet begun serious things in Ukraine".
Bruno Le Maire stated that in this context, "let’s prepare for the total cutting off of Russian gas. This is currently the most likely option."
Bruno Le Maire stated, "We face an energy crisis that can have an absolutely significant impact on our daily life, on employment, and on the functioning of companies, as well as on the French industrial tool."
He said, "It supposes we accelerate our energy independence," and called the recent deindustrialization in France a "political crime".
The government is currently preparing measures to prioritize certain industries and households in the event that there is insufficient electricity production in the short term.
"We must now put ourselves in battle order on the organization load shedding sobriety reduction consumption... It is now that it is necessary to make the decisions," stated the Minister for the Economy.
EDF had to shut down 12 reactors this year due to corrosion problems.
Bruno Le Maire finally stated that he hadn't yet received approval from the European Commission to nationalize EDF. The minister stated that he had lengthy discussions with Margrethe Vestager, (Competition Commissioner), on the subject. He said that they would resume their very long discussions.
