In a TV interview on Bastille Day, French President Emmanuel Macron talked about the war in Ukraine, dependency on Russian gas, inflation and reforms – painting a grim picture of France's economic future as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Macron warned Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine would "last" and that the French would have to prepare to do without Russian gas. Moscow is using gas as a "weapon of war," he said in the first live interview after winning his second term.
"We must all prepare for the war to last. The summer and the beginning of autumn will be very hard, without doubt," he said. He gave the interview just after inspecting the traditional military parade at the Champs Elysées and talking to war veterans and families of those who died in combat.
The war in Ukraine is impacting economic growth and caused an exponential rise in gas and fuel prices. As a result, "we must prepare to do without Russian gas", Macron warned, announcing that France was going to draw up an energy “sobriety plan”.
"Russia has already started to cut off gas supplies" by closing the Nordstream 1 pipeline, he told the TF1 channel, referring to Russia's interruption of supplies which it said was for maintenance reasons.
"That's a very clear message: it will use gas as a weapon of war," he said. "We will need to do without Russian gas completely."
France is estimated to receive less than 20 percent of its total gas imports from Russia.
Tough summer
Transitioning away from Russian energy meant that "the summer and the start of the autumn will probably be very tough", Macron warned.
Even in the event of prolonged conflict in Ukraine, Macron said that France would continue to help Kyiv defend itself against Moscow while also sticking with sanctions against Russia.
"We want to stop this war without going to war ourselves," he said.
France was boosting gas supplies from Norway, Qatar, Algeria and the United States, Macron said, and building up gas reserves which will be "near 100 percent by the autumn".
Noting that France's energy use had already "diminished a little" compared to a year earlier, Macron called on authorities, consumers and industry to save energy and eliminate sources of energy waste.
'Consume less'
"We need to enter a collective logic of restraint," Macron said; adding the government would serve as an example for private-sector actors "by making sure that we consume less energy".
This restraint would require "solidarity from our fellow citizens", he said. Using less energy was a good thing both "for the climate and also for our energy independence".
Macron also confirmed that France would invest more in the nuclear energy sector, which provides around 70 percent of the country's electricity needs.
"Nuclear energy is a sustainable solution both for France and for other countries," Macron said.
Moving to the sensitive issue of pension reforms, Macron maintained they were "necessary", but remained vague as to what concrete reforms his government wants to come up with.
Reforms should start "in the summer of 2023," he said. Without giving any details, Macron said it was necessary to "improve the quality of work", taking into account the number of years worked as well as the nature of the work.
Earlier attempts to increase the retirement age, or the number of years people would need to work before they are entitled to a full pension, led to massive strikes and demonstrations.
(with wires)
