France announces the total nationalization of electricity

France announced a historic change in what had been the trend for the last few decades: the total nationalization of electrical energy, managed by the Electric Company of France (EDF).

The French prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, advanced in a speech before the National Assembly that the government will imminently control "100 percent of the capital" of the energy supply company in the country, with the aim of strengthening its energy independence and achieve zero emissions.

In an increasingly volatile context, in which the price of electricity is decided on the wholesale market and at the expense of the auctions of the large corporations in the sector, most of them private, France decided to reverse the European trend, which in recent decades has liberalized a strategic sector such as energy and that in Europe has led to the strengthening of large European multinationals.

The French government predicts that in circumstances like the current ones, aggravated by the war in Ukraine, the rest of the energy markets in Europe will follow in its footsteps, with total or partial nationalizations.

The French government currently controls 83.88 percent of the company EDF, making it one of the few European countries that has not left private initiative an essential sector for the life of the population, although it will now take the step to reach a full nationalization.

"We are in a period of history in which countries must also win the battle of energy and production, which is why I confirm today that the State intends to control 100 percent of EDF's capital," announced Borne, who also defended the French model, which keeps its nuclear power plants in operation while promoting cleaner alternative models.

"We will be the first great ecological nation to get out of fossil fuels, but for that we need to have total control of production and our energy future," warned the French official, who did not hide that her decision is also linked to the volatility caused for the war in Ukraine: “Although our country is less dependent on Russian gas than our neighbors, we cannot believe or pretend that we will be immune to Russia's unilateral decisions. If Russia were to cut off its gas exports, we would also be affected. So from now on, we must consider all possible scenarios, even the most difficult ones, and share their consequences with all the actors and with the French people. We can resist, but we will all have to do our part”.

The measure adopted by France is also related to the legal and strategic changes adopted by the European Union (EU), which from now on considers gas and the nuclear industry as green energy. “To leave carbon behind, we will adopt a balanced energy mix around renewable and nuclear energies. We will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and invest in nuclear with the construction of new reactors and innovations for the nuclear energy of the future”, she assured.

The measure provoked a wave of reactions in Europe, both at the stock market and at the political level, since many countries are considering returning to the nationalization of electricity in the face of the unrestrained rise in prices and the vulnerability that it is causing in society.