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The tone is electric between Yannick Jadot, environmental candidate for the presidency and Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies. A controversy against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and soaring energy prices. “It is unacceptable that Total remains the last multinational oil and gas present in Russia, it is an unacceptable complicity”, launched Jadot, Sunday on RTL.
“If I were in Emmanuel Macron’s place, he added, I would impose on Total the end of its complicity with Vladimir Putin and what is happening in Ukraine. I would force Total to leave Russia. At the beginning of March, Jadot had already stigmatized the energy group by denouncing “unacceptable complicity” with Moscow.
Words deemed intolerable by the boss of the energy group. “I am an angry boss, hammered, this Wednesday on RTL, Patrick Pouyanné. When Mr. Jadot accuses the 100,000 Total employees of complicity in a war crime, it’s extremely serious, it’s an insult,” he said. And the CEO of TotalEnergies insisted: “I have a photo here of two people, they are two Ukrainian soldiers, they are employees of TotalEnergies. They are the two heroes of our company today. And we are accused of a crime, but that is not acceptable. Mr. Jadot, he spends his time speaking ill of our company, what I observe is that it lowers him in the polls. He better get on with his campaign and stop insulting us. »
Several “gestures” by the boss of Total
“It’s time for Total to take responsibility,” replied Jadot. It is also up to President Macron, who has never stopped supporting Total in its activities in Russia, to decide and tell Total that we must leave Russia in view of the atrocious war crimes that are being perpetrated in Ukraine. »
In fact, since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, TotalEnergies has been under pressure. Not only from environmentalists, who see in the oil group, the antithesis of the carbon-free model they want to build. But also of the communist Fabien Roussel, who described the multinational as a “war profiteer”, a term taken up by the candidate of the RN, Marine Le Pen. While Anne Hidalgo called on TotalEnergies to leave the country. On the left, only Jean-Luc Mélenchon felt that the tanker did not have to withdraw from Russia.
The pressure is also strong on the side of the government. Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, saw “a problem of principle” in the fact that companies work with those close to Russian power, but without calling on French groups to review their presence in this country. What push the boss of Total to make several “gestures”. Without mentioning withdrawal, the energy company, whose profit this year amounts to 14 billion euros and which realizes in Russia 3 to 5% of its total income, will no longer bring capital to new projects in the country. .
Patrick Pouyanné also announced that he would give up Russian oil, but not gas. A few weeks ago, the energy giant had contributed to the “boosts” granted to the purchasing power of consumers in the face of soaring prices at the pump, with a “gas check” of 100 euros to its customers in situation fuel poverty, and discounts on fuel at its service stations in rural areas. TotalEnergies “today makes a lot, a lot of money on the backs of the French”, had then tackled Yannick Jadot, in response to these measures.