France has pledged to deepen European solidarity in the face of energy challenges, announcing plans to boost sobriety measures and ensure reliable energy supply. The government signaled an acceleration of cross-border gas and electricity exchanges with neighboring partners, notably Spain and Germany, as a coordinated response to a winter scenario shaped by disrupted gas flows from Russia. This stance emerged from a Defense Council meeting held at the Elysee Palace, convened to assess the current energy crisis after electricity prices surged past 1,000 euros per megawatt hour and Gazprom halted gas deliveries to the French utility Engie.
Energy policy officials stated that effective winter resilience would depend on broad national mobilization. A senior energy minister indicated that Russian gas supply to France had not been fully cut but had fallen to very low levels. Attention was also drawn to the status of France’s nuclear fleet, with many reactors undergoing maintenance or facing corrosion-related issues. The state-owned utility EDF has committed to returning all reactors to service before winter, ensuring the country maintains a stable output during periods of high demand and uncertain supply.
The government emphasized voluntary sobriety measures as a central pillar of its strategy to curb consumption without resorting to heavy-handed measures. Businesses are expected to draft energy-saving plans during September, with progress and potential adjustments to be reviewed in early October. Officials stressed that the objective is to prevent the need for more coercive policies, reinforcing a cooperative approach to reducing consumption while maintaining reliability.
Mutual Solidarity with Germany and Spain
The administration highlighted a third pillar of resilience built on European solidarity. The Friday discussions focused on deepening collaboration with Germany and Spain, highlighting these nations as primary partners for gas and electricity exchanges. The aim is to begin the winter with reinforced interconnections that enable swift adjustments to any supply disruption and to uphold a stable energy balance across the region.
In recent weeks, Spain and Germany pressed to reintroduce the Pyrenees gas pipeline project, often referred to as MidCat, to improve cross-border energy access. While there was no explicit statement from the French side endorsing the project during the meeting, observers noted that France may reassess its position in light of regional needs and shared security concerns. Informants close to the Ministry of Economy indicated that Paris remains cautious about large-scale, long-term fossil fuel infrastructure commitments, stressing the importance of a balanced mix of energy sources and supply resilience, rather than a single solution.
Progress reports from August noted that existing interconnections between France and Spain through the Pyrenees have been underutilized, with current capacity reaching only a fraction of potential. Paris intends to maximize the use of these links to boost energy exchange and strengthen the overall stability of the grid across both nations and their neighbors during the winter period.