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French President Emmanuel Macron has called on businesses, government agencies and households to do more to save energy. France is bracing for the prospect of Russia cutting off gas supplies and the war in Ukraine turning into a protracted war.
“Russia has started cutting off gas supplies, and it is sending the message that it will use energy as a weapon in this war,” Macron said in a TV interview marking France’s National Day.
“We have to be ready for a complete absence of Russian gas…it might happen. We need a general mobilization.”
This is the first time a French president has said that France faces a shortage of electricity and gasoline of the 1970s as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ministers have previously argued that France’s traditional advantage in nuclear power means it is less reliant on Russian gas than its neighbors, but on Friday announced plans to reduce energy use across the economy by 10% over the next two years. % new target.
Germany has launched a comprehensive energy-saving effort, with measures ranging from dimming street lights to lowering swimming pool water heating standards.
In addition to saving energy, Europe needs to diversify its natural gas supply sources and build up inventories for winter, Macron said.
The French president said he believed the Ukrainian war would be a protracted one and that the West should continue to support Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government and the Ukrainian army. With Russia aiming to capture parts of eastern Ukraine, “this summer and autumn will be very tough,” he said.
The comments come as Macron is trying to put an end to a difficult period during which his centrist coalition lost its parliamentary majority in June’s legislative elections. A bolder opposition of the far left and far right is seeking to thwart his second-term agenda, with his approval rating dropping to 37 in a recent IFOP poll commissioned by Paris Match magazine %, the lowest since March 2020.
Faced with the energy crisis, the French government has begun preparing an energy efficiency plan that will include targets for industry and government agencies, and has called for a “solidarity effort” by turning off lights and driving less.
In addition, the contingency plan being drawn up will require industry to come up with a list of which sites or factories can and cannot shut down in times of tight energy supply.
Translator / Zephyr