Government report finds French energy sector '30 years behind schedule'

A damning parliamentary report says France has lost three decades in the race to become self-sufficient in energy supplies, and is ill-prepared for the so-called Green transition to environmentally positive sources of electricity.

Wind turbines near the French village of Bethencourt. None - PASCAL ROSSIGNOL

As a result of "political incoherence" and the aimless drift of energy policy since the mid-90s, France has lost the prospect of providing for its own power requirements, especially electricity.

The 372-page report presented to parliament on Thursday is the result of six months of investigation by a multi-party commission.

The document is, according to centrist daily paper Le Monde, "a long story of remarkable strategic errors, of warnings unheeded, of chances missed, short-term thinking, unfounded assumptions, risky bets, and regulatory and legislative smoke screens." 

"Today, France has its back to the wall" in terms of energy provision, according to two of the commission members, Antoine Armand of the Renaissance group, and Raphaël Schellenberger of the right-wing Republicans.

The commission spent 150 hours interviewing experts, scientists, business leaders, senior civil servants, former government ministers and two ex-presidents, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.

Over the six months, says Antoine Armand, "we went from incomprehension to surprise to consternation".

A sector stuck in the past

The facts are, indeed, sobering. The French energy mix has hardly evolved in three decades.

The country was producing 87 percent of its electricity from non-carbon sources in 2022, but has failed to capitalise on that huge lead in the global race to leave fossil fuels behind.

The report found that when France should have been investing in the solar and wind sectors, both for electricity production and to sell French technology worldwide, a series of political failures left the door open to the Chinese, who are now globally dominant.

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The development of the nuclear sector was slowed under the Hollande presidency in reaction to the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

Today that sector, supposed to provide 70 percent of the nation's electricity, is producing two-thirds less than in 2005, because 32 of France's 56 reactors are closed for esential but time-consuming maintenance.

The pressurised water fiasco

Worse, the French nuclear industry has lost its world-leader status because of the delays and failures associated with the next generation of reactors.

The commission clearly says that the move to build the so-called pressurised water nuclear plants was ill-judged, since neither the technology nor the design had been finalised. The Flamanville 3 unit is now 12 years behind schedule and billions of euros over-budget.

The report says not enough effort was made to prepare for extending the useful lives of France's nuclear reactors, despite the fact that everyone knew they were approaching their sell-by dates.

The commission makes 30 propositions, the most significant being the call for the establishment of legislation to oversee energy and climate requirement over the next 30 years.

This law would take account of probable energy requirements, in the light of environmental imperatives, and would include the obligation for strict supervision by parliament and various expert institutions.