"It is obvious that we will have no more Russian gas by the end of the year, either by (our) choice, or by choice of the Russians", affirmed the head of Medef, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, during a press conference in Paris with his Italian counterpart as part of the 4th Franco-Italian Economic Forum.
"We will have to take an increase" in energy prices for consumers, he argued, urging the French government to "announce unpopular measures" as soon as possible.
According to the boss of Medef, President Emmanuel Macron must "tell the truth to our fellow citizens" and "make the choice of the producer before making that of the consumer".
"And if we have to cut the gas to industrialists, we have to prepare it upstream", launched Mr. Roux de Bézieux again in front of the press gathered at the Italian Embassy.
Gas reserves in Europe AFP
The boss of the first French employers' organization also called for "not to underestimate the impact that citizens and companies can have in terms of sobriety", stressing that "lowering the temperature from 20°C to 19°C in corporate offices means reducing (their) energy consumption by 7%.
His Italian counterpart, Carlo Bonomi, also urged political leaders to "make difficult choices" to "find concrete solutions to the problems we have to face".
"We can consider a complete cut" of Russian gas deliveries, warned the boss of Confindustria.
Before adding: "We must react quickly", while admitting that "the answers (to be provided) were not easy because the problems were not".
Among the solutions envisaged, Mr. Bonomi indicated that "additional efforts from the industrial world" should be made and that the European Union should "look towards the Mediterranean" to obtain gas supplies, despite "competition from Turkey". in the region and "the presence of China".
"Nuclear will also play a fundamental role," he said.
© 2022 AFP