Energy Matters and the French Elections
With the looming first round of the French presidential elections only a few weeks away, France is facing a critical decision at a time of uncertainty and fear, following a year of unsettlement with the loss of France’s triple AAA and the Euro crisis. A surprising aspect in this campaign is that, compared to 2007, energy issues have been at the center of the debate.
Most experts and observers remember that in 2007, during a live, televised debate between then French candidates Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, both had given erroneous numbers concerning the part of nuclear in France’s overall energy consumption, a reflection of the belittlement of energy in that presidential debate.Yet this year, after Fukushima, with rising oil and gas prices, the bankruptcy of a refinery and Iran’s threats to cut off oil exports, most candidates have made France’s energy mix and its choices one of their priority targets.
In a matter of days following the announcement of the local refinery Petroplus’ demise, François Hollande, the Socialist candidate, Eva Joly , the Environmentalist candidate, and Eric Besson, Minister of Trade, had gone on site to reassure the hundreds of employees that their fate had not gone unnoticed. Nuclear energy has become a hot topic, with the ruling right party UMP maintaining its stance that nuclear is a safe and necessary energy for France, while the environmentalists vow to go the German way and slowly but surely, close off nuclear plants in France, with no particular consideration for the economic impact this could potentially have on France’s nuclear expertise.
Of particular importance is that despite the differences in the parties’ stances, they have all understood the importance of this issue. In a time of financial crisis, rising energy costs directly impact a French person’s purchasing power, and with close to three million French homes currently facing difficulties in being able to afford heat and electricity, these issues are fast becoming newspaper fodder.
It is hard to predict what lasting impact the French presidential elections will have on this particular issue; however, what is certain is that for once, they will have an impact. Energy issues will be considered, weighed carefully, discussed, and decisions will be made. The future president will no longer discard the energy mix as a second-tier subject of no importance to the French; he or she will listen to the population and take into account their worries.
When José Bové, a French environmentalist and European MP, took a stand last year against the exploration of shale gas, France as a whole heard, and it dominated the news for weeks. When Fukushima was struck, the government conducted a serious reflection on France’s nuclear plants, their capabilities and their safety. Every other month, a new study is commissioned by the government on renewable energy and France’s reduction of CO2 emissions. The lasting impact of this presidential election in the end will be the sudden revelation and awareness of France’s energy choices; the rest remains to be seen.