President Emmanuel Macron invited, on Saturday December 3, the French not to "panic" in the face of the risks of power cuts this winter, even judging that they could be avoided if consumption were reduced by 10% according to the plan presented. by the government.
"Don't panic, it's no use," he told TF1 at the end of his three-day state trip to the United States.
The government of Elisabeth Borne has presented a series of measures to deal with possible power cuts this winter, due to historically low production from the nuclear fleet, which are worrying users.
“Sometimes the unthinkable happens”
"It's normal for the government to prepare an extreme case because, the last few years have shown us, sometimes the unthinkable happens," noted the head of state.
“It is the responsibility of the government, in conjunction with the competent actors, to prepare these scenarios and to allow the country not to be in complete disorder,” he said.
Power cuts will be programmed and targeted (maximum two consecutive hours with load shedding confirmed the day before) in the event of an overload of the electrical network.
Schools will not be spared and in this case closed.
Trains, metros or trams may be canceled or interrupted to avoid having passengers stranded in the middle of the track.
"My message is 'responsibility' but in no way 'panic'", hammered the President of the Republic, recalling that the French were invited to reduce their electricity consumption.
"If all together we stick to the sobriety plan that has been presented by the government, that is to say to reduce by about 10% compared to our usual consumption (..) then yes we will be able to pass even with a month of December and a cold month of January this period, it depends on us”, he added.
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app