Le Figaro – Ministers in France have appeared in the media over the weekend to call on citizens to do their part in helping to cut energy consumption, and thereby reduce the risks of power cuts this winter.
As reported in EuroNews247 last week, France has recently put in place plans to prepare local authorities for potential ‘load shedding’ this winter. Load shedding is where certain regions will have their energy cut for short periods of time if there is an issue with supply.
In order to avoid this, various ministers have called on citizens to, in the words of President Emmanuel Macron, “make efforts” to help avoid this. Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, told TV network BFMTV that “If we are all capable of making the necessary efforts, whether companies, the State, local authorities, and each and every one of us, there is no reason why we cannot not spend the winter in the best possible conditions”.
Attal went on to explain that because of the war in Ukraine and the failures from the French nuclear industry, which is currently unable to operate at full capacity, “collective responsibility” was needed in order to prevent power outages. This message was echoed by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, who said preventing power cuts was the responsibility “of all of us collectively”.
Finally, Marlene Schiappa, the Secretary of State for the Solidarity Economy, explained to Europe 1 that she understood that some French people may be annoyed by the state requesting they cut their usage, saying that she appreciated some would see it as an example of a “nanny state”. But she stressed that “it is the government’s responsibility to say what the situation is” but added that “there is no need to panic”.
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