Despite confirmed winter power cuts, Macron asks not to 'scare people'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Dec 2022 21:31

French President asks authorities and media not to scare people by creating "absurd scenarios" regarding winter power outages in the country during the winter

French President Emmanuel Macron.

French President Emmanuel Macron calls statements made by public authorities and media reports regarding the power outage in the country during the winter "absurd" that are "scaring" citizens of the country.

"These debates are absurd. The role of state authorities and organizations is not to create fear and be driven by this fear. Their role is to do their job to provide people with electricity," said Macron, adding that, "This goes for everyone's responsibility — and it lies in 'energy sobriety,' and not in scaring people with absurd scenarios. Stop all of that."

The French leader made the statement during the EU-Western Balkans summit in Albania.

"We will withstand this winter, despite the war. I just ask everyone to do their job. The job of EDF [French electric utility corporation] is to maintain operations of power plants, the job of the government is planning, and everyone else should stick to energy sobriety," Macron added.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called on December 1 for citizens of France to lower their energy consumption so the country could avoid power outages.

On December 3, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the people of France not to panic about possible power cuts that could hit the country this winter as Europe undergoes an energy crunch, mainly due to the sanctions it imposed on Russia over the Ukraine war.

In the same context, the President of the French power grid operator, RTE, Xavier Piechaczyk, stated that there is a possibility during the winter that the country could face short-term power outages due to heavy loads on the grid amid freezing temperatures.

In early October, the French government launched an "energy sobriety" plan to face winter. The goal is to reduce France's energy consumption by 10% in two years and to ensure that the country spends the winter without gas or electricity shortages.

The plan implements various measures, such as limiting heating to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius, turning off lighting after 10 pm, and encouraging remote work.