The Defense Council on the energy crisis convened by Emmanuel Macron is underway at the Élysée in the presence of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal and the ministers responsible for Energy Transition Christophe Béchu and Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
According to the Élysée, this Council has “the objective of taking stock of the situation of our gas and electricity supply to prepare for all scenarios this fall and winter”. It will also look at “European energy solidarity”.
Even if Catherine Mac Gregor, the boss of Engie estimates that the gas reserves will be filled to 100% before the arrival of winter, gas flows from Russia have dried up and Europeans are preparing for a possible total halt in retaliation for the sanctions taken against Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The giant Gazprom thus announced this week the end of its deliveries to Engie. A situation that could cost France a point of growth, according to Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy.
The pressure on EDF
The situation is also tense on the electricity side, due to the unavailability of part of the nuclear fleet, in particular for corrosion problems. Elisabeth Borne thus put pressure on EDF by asking it Thursday to keep its reactor maintenance schedule to avoid France having to restart a coal-fired power plant.
“We have been preparing for months to avoid cuts. If we lower our gas consumption by 10% there will be no restrictions. It is attainable, ”added the Prime Minister on France Inter. “If we don’t make these savings, if the winter is cold, there may be restrictions but they will not concern households”, she added, specifying that she would present “at the end of September at the beginning of October” the different scenarios considered.
For her part, Emmanuelle Wargon, the president of the Energy Regulatory Commission, declared herself “confident” on the “possibility of spending the winter without Russian gas” which only represents 9% of the supply. in France.
Initially reserved for defense and security matters, defense councils have been used on numerous occasions by Emmanuel Macron to manage the Covid-19 crisis, provoking criticism from political opposition on the solitary exercise of power.