There’s nothing like a construction helmet and fluorescent vest to embody France’s industrial might at work. At the head of the large Bercy, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, hastened to wear these precious accessories on arrival at the site of the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant (North) for his first trip on Monday, January 15, dedicated. in energy, which was added to its responsibilities due to the shift.
Who has been officially Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty for four days, is second in the government in the protocol order after Prime Minister Gabriel Atal. ” Will I also be entitled to my fluorescent vest? “, he asked casually as he entered the site. “We will do what is necessary,” EDF CEO Luc Rémont, appointed in September 2022, promised to welcome them.
“This trip has a somewhat symbolic character,” Underlining to the minister, he explained that “ first time” that he visits nuclear power plants” As Energy Minister. A subject he wants to pursue “personal and direct” To ensure that the construction schedule for the new EPRs promised by Emmanuel Macron in Belfort in 2022, ” strictly held ». And this, if there is a possibility that the day-to-day management of energy-related matters will be handed over to a representative minister – the name of Roland Lescure, minister representative for industry in the previous government, is already doing the rounds.
“Major need for carbon-free electricity”
Bruno Le Maire has been burning for months to solve the energy issue held in a dedicated ministry in 2022. Like most of his predecessors in Bersi, he tried to bring the subject back into the fold of his ministry, which lost it in 2007, during previous changes. “Would it be absurd to combine financial and environmental skills in government, to give it the best chance of meeting this challenge?”Already requested the Minister of Economy in his book, An eternal sun (Albin Mitchell), published in November 2021. It took more than two years To convince Alice to go part way by entrusting her with energy. And only three days to publicly display his new privileges.
On Monday, Bercy’s tenant, in office for nearly seven years, moved to the site of the largest nuclear power plant in France and Europe, in Gravelines near Dunkirk. A symbol of the French nuclear renewal desired by Emmanuel Macron, the plant must include a new pair of EPR 2 reactors by 2035.
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