He didn't even wait for the stands and grandstands to be dismantled at the Cop 26 in Glasgow, Emmanuel Macron, to say that France believes (still) in nuclear energy. It will therefore build six new state-of-the-art power plants to ensure a stress-free future. Yes, the fight against climate change is important and France is engaged on this front, but its economy aims to travel with non-polluting reactors. In the hope of staying at the Elysée for another mandate, in these hectic days between international summits, the Covid emergency and internal political struggle, the French President has shown courage. He also knows he is taking many chances.
In declaring himself in favor of the development of the new nuclear power for the next few years, Macron was aware of attracting a lot of criticism to himself. But he also knows that Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has never denied the validity of the new nuclear power. On the other hand, the Elysee's strongest French ally is EDF, which is controlled by the state and has never made a secret of having new and ambitious nuclear projects ready. The stock market crashes at the beginning of the year were quickly archived and the press gave prominence to the statements of the president of Edf, Jean-Bernard Levy, who in a hearing in the Senate recalled the company's commitment along the entire nuclear supply chain.
To guarantee the energy independence of France, Macron therefore retraces paths that put it sheltered from crisis of supplies and fluctuating prices of gas and oil. He does not lose sight of the debate within the EU where nuclear power with gas ("transitional energies") could enter the taxonomy. “We have to guarantee our electricity supply – said the French President – but also achieve zero emissions in 2050″. Nuclear energy could therefore be the transitional solution to accompany the transition – when it will be – to renewables.
Le French centrals have their age. The buildings date back to the 70s and work with outdated technologies. But it has been since he took office in the Elysée that Macron has begun to think about how to fix the conspicuous energy sector. In fact, guaranteeing the country constant electricity at low prices, ignoring market fluctuations and geopolitical fibrillation. Electricity in France costs a third less than the European average and this has made the fortune of many industrial sectors. The bill for families has never been a problem, unlike the protests of yellow vests over the cost of fuel and much more.
A few months before the elections, Macron has the audacity to challenge public opinion, which on the one hand enjoys basic energy prices and on the other accepts the challenge of the ecological transition. In Paris the initiatives of the mayor Anne Hidalgo of limiting car traffic in the center and the increase of cycle pathsi have become a school case for planners and politicians. Against Macron's idea of building six new EPR 2 reactors Third generation Greenpeace activists immediately took sides, who defined the President's program as "disconnected from reality". In support of their disputes, the delays accumulated in the construction of the Flamanville nuclear site, which will perhaps be completed in 2022, seven years later than planned. A time that the President certainly did not calculate.
