“Energy fascinates me,” Bruno Le Maire repeated Monday, during a visit to the Gravelines nuclear power plant (North).
The message has been sent to all those – and there are many – who are wondering about the merits of the transfer of the ministerial portfolio of energy to Bercy, a novelty from the Attal government. Bruno Le Maire underlined the symbolic nature of this trip to Gravelines, his first visit to a power plant as minister in charge of energy. He insisted on “the importance given to this new mission”, specifying that he “will personally follow the subject of energy, a vital issue for France, its decarbonization and its economic success”. This statement is not insignificant as the question of appointing a Secretary of State in charge of energy remains unanswered.
The fact that the energy is monitored at Bercy should make it possible to “accelerate”. There is no shortage of cases: building six new reactors by 2035 is in itself a colossal challenge.
Added to this is the desire to accelerate in renewables: offshore wind power and photovoltaic panels. Note that for two days the minister has not mentioned onshore wind power once. An omission which is not coincidental, especially since this trip is made in the North, the department which has the greatest number of wind turbines in France.
Bruno Le Maire also took the opportunity to salute the work carried out by the EDF teams which enabled the group to see its nuclear production start to rise again, reaching 320 TWh last year after the poor performance of 2022.
