These two sites will supply electricity to one million people, said Prime Minister Jean Castex, from Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude), which will host one of the parks, 22 km offshore.

The other park will be located 22 km off Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), "subject to the results of the latest environmental studies", said Mr. Castex.

Each set will be awarded from 2023 to developers, and will include around twenty wind turbines, for a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW) each.

They can later be extended to 750 MW.

This announcement comes a month after Emmanuel Macron's speech on energy, which proposed to increase to 50 marine parks (40 gigawatts of installed capacity) by 2050.

Despite its 2,800 km of coastline in mainland France, France is far behind in offshore wind power compared to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia or even Germany.

The country had yet decided to launch in 2009, awarding the first four parks.

But, from administrative procedures to appeals, none has yet materialized.

Today, seven projects are in the pipeline, at varying degrees of progress, in the Atlantic or in the North Sea.

The very first, facing Saint-Nazaire, should be commissioned by the end of 2022, 10 years after its award to the EDF-Enbridge consortium, and more than 30 years after the opening of a first park in Denmark. .

The gigantic concrete foundations of the wind turbines of the future Fécamp park, under construction in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, February 11, 2022 Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP / Archives

To meet the target of 50 parks, the government also announced on Monday the allocation of 2 GW of projects each year from 2024, as requested by the sector.

A commitment that will still have to be included in the energy programming law expected in mid-2023, we note at France Energie Eolienne (FEE), the professional association.

Representatives of the wind power sector signed a "pact" on Monday with the Minister for Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, the industrialists committing to local benefits and employment (5,000 today, 20,000 by 2035).

Second source of electricity in France?

For the secretary general of FEE, Michel Gioria, it is now time for "fine planning", which will make it possible to organize the means of State services, the timing of calls for projects... "What we learn from the countries foreigners is that without it, we can't do it," he told AFP after the announcements.

For Jean Castex, ultimately, offshore wind would thus become "the second source of electricity in France after nuclear", generating "20% of electricity consumption in France".

The evolution of solar and wind power in France Kenan AUGEARD AFP

France also sees in floating an industrial opportunity.

Floating technology is still in its infancy and expensive, but observers see it as the future of the sector.

It has never yet been used for a commercial park in France, but a first call for tenders has already been launched in 2021 for a park in Brittany.

Floating constitutes a "very great strength" because it "can be installed far from the coast, when the bottoms are deep", as in the Mediterranean, argued the Prime Minister on Monday.

Mr. Castex wanted France to become "a key nation" for this technique, by structuring an entire industry to build "floats".

Two calls for expressions of interest will thus be launched in March with ports and manufacturers.

As for the Mediterranean regions concerned, the president of Occitanie Carole Delga welcomed the announcement, rejoicing that her region is "an example in France".

Port-La-Nouvelle in particular has already been hosting companies and infrastructures for several years preparing the installation of pilot floating wind farms, expected by 2024.

During the public debate organized in 2021 on wind power in the Mediterranean, the State, the operator of the RTE electricity network, the regions and a large part of the industrial sector had defended the timetable desired by the government.

On the other hand, environmentalists, fishermen, scientists and local elected officials had spoken out in favor of a postponement, in the face of the uncertainties weighing on this rich and fragile Mediterranean environment.

© 2022 AFP