France’s RN Eyes Building 20 Reactors by 2043

France’s Rassemblement National party would plan to build 20 new nuclear reactors by 2043, the party’s energy spokesperson told Montel.

• The party previously said it aims to stop punitive green policies.
• “We don’t want to abandon the plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, we want to achieve it with other means”, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, who is in charge of the economic and energy platform at Rassemblement National, said.
• The party is planning to halt the development of wind power, abandon a ban on the sale of gasoline and diesel cars eyed for 2035, loosen housing-renovation requirements and curb plans to exclude the most polluting vehicles from large cities.
• Instead, the party will focus on building new nuclear reactors and support the development of hydrogen, it said last week.
• The RN’s program would also introduce a fixed price for France’s power production that is linked to the real cost of production – meaning it would remove the €42/MWh Arenh rate.
• If the RN would be elected, France would exit the power market and sell its power output to its neighbours through bilateral agreements, Jean-Philippe Tanguy said. The move has been largely criticized by Engie’s CEO, Catherine MacGregor, as it would lead to power blackouts and higher power prices in France.
• The latest rolling Ifop opinion poll showed on Monday the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) retaining its first-place position with 36% support, up 0.5% on the previous poll. The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance sits in second place with 29.5% support (also up 0.5%), while the centrist Ensemble alliance supportive of President Emmanuel Macron sits in third place, down 0.5%.