Emmanuel Macron gathered his nuclear policy “steering cabin” on Friday to stay “on course” and the pace of the accelerated recovery of the sector, one year after this turning point desired by the Head of State in the face of the energy and energy crises. climatic.
This nuclear policy council was held in the morning at the Elysee Palace with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, several ministers and representatives of the Nuclear Safety Authority and the Atomic Energy Commission. A press release was expected in the afternoon with “arbitrations” and “orientations”, according to the presidency.
On February 10, 2022 in Belfort, the president, then campaigning for his re-election, had defined an energy policy which devoted his change of footing to civilian nuclear power, with this vast recovery plan, as well as the development of renewables, and a greater great sobriety.
Since then, the adoption of a bill to develop renewable energies is on track in Parliament, and the Senate voted in first reading a text to accelerate and simplify the construction of new reactors.
Friday’s council was therefore a stepping stone to respect, and perhaps detail, the timetable for the promised construction of six new reactors, with the ambitious objective of first commissioning in 2035, and small reactors SMR type.
The meeting was also to launch “studies” so that the government could decide on the extension of the life of existing reactors from 40 to 60 years, as requested by the operator EDF.
“Finger of Honor”
A presidential adviser mentioned a “mobilization issue” of all the actors in the sector to ensure that the deadlines will be met.
And this is a big issue.
The year 2023 is crucial for the energy future of France, which must enshrine in law the share allocated to each energy, and in particular nuclear, to get out of fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.
Some, among environmental organizations or in the opposition, were also offended by this presidential advice before the end of the current public debate on the new EPR reactors and before Parliament debated the future programming law on the energy and climate, expected for the summer at the earliest.
The non-governmental organization France nature environnement (FNE) estimated that this meeting “could seek to make believe that the launch of the construction of new reactors is inevitable”, deploring a “passage in force” which is “a middle finger to public debate”.
“The President of the Republic is trampling on the parliamentary debate”, protested the Socialist deputies in a press release, affirming that “it is up to Parliament to determine sovereignly the future energy mix of France”.
“We cannot say that on the one hand, there is the climate emergency and on the other hand, to postpone decisions again and again”, especially with the energy crisis amplified by the war in Ukraine, replied the entourage of Emmanuel Macron, ensuring however to respect the “order” of the decisions.
“Now that the course is clear, we need a cockpit and a chef on board,” pleaded the Elysée.
The presidency insisted on the historic nature of this “huge project” for the new reactors “which weighs more than 60 billion euros”, even if the key question of financing, which still has to be decided, was not agenda Friday.
“It is important that we have a site manager and that we can be able to meet all the deadlines and costs,” said an adviser, specifying that this mission would be “entrusted to the Prime Minister” .
03/02/2023 16:06:25 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP