After decreeing “the end of abundance” and calling for “sobriety”, Emmanuel Macron convened an unprecedented Defense Council on Friday morning to take stock of gas and electricity supplies and examine scenarios to avoid shortages.
Having begun at around 10:00 am at the Elysee Palace, this Council brings together “the competent ministers” on this issue as the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal and the ministers responsible for the Energy Transition Christophe Béchu and Agnès Pannier-Runacher, as well as experts.
Its objective is “to take stock of our gas and electricity supply situation in order to prepare for all possible scenarios this fall and winter,” explained the Presidency. It will also focus on “European energy solidarity”.
Gas flows from Russia have dried up and Europeans are preparing for a possible total shutdown, in retaliation for sanctions against Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The giant Gazprom announced this week the end of its deliveries to Engie.
The situation is also tense on the electricity side due to the unavailability of part of the nuclear fleet, notably because of corrosion problems.
The government is therefore studying the various hypotheses for the autumn and winter, taking into account temperature, sunshine and wind forecasts, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacities and the timetable for the resumption of the nuclear fleet.
Elisabeth Borne thus put pressure on EDF by asking it on Thursday to keep its reactor maintenance schedule to avoid France having to restart a coal-fired plant.
“We have been preparing for months to avoid blackouts. If we lower our gas consumption by 10% there will be no restrictions. It is achievable,” added the Prime Minister on France Inter.
“If we do not make these savings, if the winter is cold, there may be restrictions but they will not affect households,” she added, saying she would present “late September-early October” the scenarios considered.
Decreasing consumption
Already, gas consumption by individuals has fallen “by about 4 to 5%” since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, said Friday the CEO of Engie Catherine MacGregor.
“We already see signals of demand where people begin to pay attention, and that it is very encouraging”, added on RTL the boss of the first supplier of gas in France (ex-GDF Suez), by declaring herself “relatively serene” for the winter.
Ms. MacGregor also pointed out that some companies, “affected” by the price increase, were beginning to “close their production facilities”, particularly in the energy-intensive glass sector.
French gas stocks are 93% full, said the director, saying she was very confident to reach the target of 100% at the beginning of the winter.
Initially reserved for defense and security matters, the defense councils have been used on numerous occasions by Emmanuel Macron to manage the Covid-19 crisis, provoking criticism from political oppositions about the solitary exercise of power.
LFI MP Alexis Corbière denounced on LCI a “somewhat opaque system” acting “ultra-presidentialism” of Emmanuel Macron who “decides everything” and “puts himself on stage.”
“This is not satisfactory,” reacted RN deputy Sébastien Chenu on France 2, for whom “President Macron is trying to mask” his “total short-sightedness” by “convening a Defense Council outside the democratic game in the basement of the Élysée”.
This “deserves a real debate” in the Assembly, he added, while Elisabeth Borne said it was “already planned a debate in Parliament on energy policy, both in the Assembly and the Senate,” which is scheduled to resume in October.
For his part, the secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger said he did not “expect much” from the Defense Council but called on the government to reactivate the provisions of partial unemployment and to target support measures on the most modest.
“When we talk about energy sobriety in companies, we will have to talk about the organization of work, how employees come to work,” he added on Franceinfo.
