the programming law postponed indefinitely

Initially planned for the summer of 2023, the programming law dedicated to nuclear power and renewable energies has been postponed, the government is afraid of parliamentarians and public opinion.

Energy sovereignty was to be the subject of a text before August 2023. In this law, which commits France for decades, it is a question of establishing the number of nuclear power plants, of deciding how to heat itself and of ruling on renewables. But the executive prefers to avoid launching the debate in the Assembly, for lack of being sure of having a majority on the subject. Finding a way through is tricky, especially before the European elections.

Part of the left wants to reduce the share of nuclear power, while part of the right is opposed to the massive development of renewables. The executive therefore hesitates between bringing a major text, a sort of major cathedral law on energy, or passing its objectives through small channels, by regulatory means, that is to say by bypassing Parliament.

MEDEF fears a rise in electricity prices

Patrick Martin, the president of Medef, lets his discontent burst forth. According to him, these hesitations do not reassure companies, because without a real energy strategy, energy prices risk soaring. If we have more nuclear power and more renewable energies in France, we will produce more electricity, and that will lower prices. However, the price of electricity is one of the sinews of economic war.

EDF is struggling to keep up. However, in recent months, the French electrician has worked hard to repair the numerous technical and corrosion problems on its nuclear reactors, but everything is not resolved, far from it. Again on Friday March 8, we learned that there was corrosion on a reactor of a nuclear power plant in Gironde. 12 years late and a bill that has quadrupled, the Flamanville EPR is still awaited. Finally, this is without taking into account the construction program for the six future reactors, the ERP2, initially estimated at more than 50 billion euros, a cost which risks getting out of control.