French electricity sell-off sparks anger

mkpdavies · 25-10-2005, 06:36 PM

http://www.ukip.org/abc_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=1657

Quote:

THE French Government provoked widespread anger yesterday by announcing the partial sell-off of Electricité de France, the world’s biggest power company and a popular symbol for what the Gallic State does best.

The left-wing opposition, unions and even some from President Chirac’s centre-right camp condemned what many French see as a blow to the national heritage and against the cherished “French social model”.

Hostility to the long-expected float of EDF, supplier of a quarter of Britain’s electricity, reflects discontent in much of France with the deregulation and free-market thinking that Tony Blair wants to promote at his European Union summit on the future at Hampton Court on Thursday.

Under pressure from public opinion, M Chirac and Dominique de Villepin, his Prime Minister, have lately cast themselves as defenders of the French tradition of the strong, regulated State, leaving little room for agreement with Mr Blair on opening up Europe to more world competition.

M de Villepin said this month that “the French social model should not be thrown in the rubbish bin” and “we do not aspire to be British”. Sensing the national mood, Nicolas Sarkozy, the reform-minded Interior Minister and leader of M Chirac’s Union for a Popular Majority, has also started bashing Brussels and “les Anglo-Saxons”.

Last week M de Villepin depicted the EDF plan and the imminent sell-off of the motorway network as “patriotic privatisation”. He said: “This initial public offering will be carried out in the interests of France, of the company and of its employees.”

He promised that the State would retain ownership of 85 per cent of EDF. The company, which employs 170,000 and is held up as the model French public service, must abide by three rules: that it would guarantee electricity for the poor, that pricing would be geographically uniform and not subject to steep rises, and that the funds raised from the partial flotation will be ploughed back INTO phpbb_EDF, which has heavy debts and slim profits, rather than go INTO phpbb_topping up the State’s empty coffers.

The Opposition, which privatised national industries when it was last in power, played to public fears, depicting the EDF move as another sell-out to “Anglo-Saxon liberalism”. The opponents fear that “capitalist” owners will force up electricity prices and destroy an enterprise run for the public good. They do not believe that the State will keep a majority stake in EDF. Similar promises were made when Air France and France Telecom were floated in the 1990s.

Both went on to majority private ownership — and financial success.

Laurent Fabius, a former Socialist Prime Minister, promised to renationalise EDF if elected president in 2007. The Communist Party denounced the sell-off as “a catastrophe” and called for a campaign of disobedience to halt it.

Over 18 months EDF workers have staged strikes and wildcat actions including disconnecting supply to ministers’ homes. The unions have called for protests outside the Prime Minister’s residence and provincial prefectures today. The Left has also called a big demonstration in Paris on November 19.

POWER POINTS

EDF has 5 million customer accounts in the UK and generates 7 per cent of UK electricity

Many UK customers are supplied with electricity from French nuclear power stations

EDF workers, including 11,300 British employees, will receive shares worth ˆ 1 billion in total

40 billion euros will be invested in EDF over five years to boost electricity production

The Times – 25th October 2005

I love the way the French bash Britain, everytime the EU forces them INTO phpbb_doing something.

Hereward the Wake · 28-10-2005, 06:30 PM

I hope the french bring their country to a halt to stop this plan.

Electricity privatization has being a failure here, we are now dependent on foreign energy. Frances efficient state owned nuclear power stations compare well with Britains gas power stations dependent on imported fuel for which the price is rising.

The generation of electricity cannot be left to the market. The electricity companys were short termist in the dash for gas. Now they are increasing their prices. They should not be allowed to increase there prices so much.

mkpdavies · 29-10-2005, 09:40 AM

You know we get a lot of our power from the French don't you?

They went Nuclear and are reaping the benefits.

C_steam · 29-10-2005, 11:41 AM

75 - 80% of French electricity is Nuclear, IIRC.

Britannist · 29-10-2005, 02:22 PM

We should be aiming for near or total self-sufficiency in energy supplies - not relying on the French - of all nations - to provide us with 10% to 25% of our electricity. If there is an emergency in the French electricity network and rationing has to be introduced without notice, the first thing they'll do (with great pleasure) is pull the plug on the inter-connector (the line that feeds electricity and gas to the UK from France).

There is absolutely no way the French would let themselves become reliant on foreign nations for something as crucial as its electricity supplies.

I also understand the French are trying to build up the amount of electricity they are providing their Spanish neighbour. With power comes influence as they say.

smooveOp · 01-11-2005, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkpdavies

They went Nuclear and are reaping the benefits.

I cannot understand why we've been so slow off the mark.

Nuclear is the green alternative - really!

Just look at the damage the new windfarm will do to Rye Marshes - and all for such a small amount of electricity.

Modern, nuclear power-stations are the way forward. They are 'cleaner' and modern designs provide far less toxic waste than older designs.

I read the other day that the waste from the latest South African 'Pebble Bed' Modular reactor can completely degrade in 100 years.

Link: http://www.pbmr.com/

Surely we could do even better than this if we tried?

mkpdavies · 01-11-2005, 12:29 PM

People are worried that they leak radiation, or might blow up or get attacked by terrorists.

If they saw how modern stations are put together, they wouldn't be, cause it would take a nuke to bust one open anyway.

smooveOp · 01-11-2005, 12:52 PM

That's true.

People should also grow up and face facts.

We've been talking about France which already has nuclear power stations along its coasts - yes, even on its Channel coasts!!!

Bearing in mind that nuclear contamination is no respector of international boundaries, we already face a potential threat.

That being the case, we have nothing to lose if we start to build them ourselves.

29-10-2005, 09:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,604	You know we get a lot of our power from the French don't you? They went Nuclear and are reaping the benefits. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

29-10-2005, 02:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Britannist Uber Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: London Posts: 22,896	inter connector We should be aiming for near or total self-sufficiency in energy supplies - not relying on the French - of all nations - to provide us with 10% to 25% of our electricity. If there is an emergency in the French electricity network and rationing has to be introduced without notice, the first thing they'll do (with great pleasure) is pull the plug on the inter-connector (the line that feeds electricity and gas to the UK from France). There is absolutely no way the French would let themselves become reliant on foreign nations for something as crucial as its electricity supplies. I also understand the French are trying to build up the amount of electricity they are providing their Spanish neighbour. With power comes influence as they say.

01-11-2005, 12:29 PM	#7 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,604	People are worried that they leak radiation, or might blow up or get attacked by terrorists. If they saw how modern stations are put together, they wouldn't be, cause it would take a nuke to bust one open anyway. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

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28-10-2005, 06:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
Hereward the Wake Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Posts: 237	I hope the french bring their country to a halt to stop this plan. Electricity privatization has being a failure here, we are now dependent on foreign energy. Frances efficient state owned nuclear power stations compare well with Britains gas power stations dependent on imported fuel for which the price is rising. The generation of electricity cannot be left to the market. The electricity companys were short termist in the dash for gas. Now they are increasing their prices. They should not be allowed to increase there prices so much.

29-10-2005, 11:41 AM	#4 (permalink)
C_steam Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Paddling up 5hit creek..... Posts: 7,509	75 - 80% of French electricity is Nuclear, IIRC.

01-11-2005, 12:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
smooveOp Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Middlesex Posts: 571	That's true. People should also grow up and face facts. We've been talking about France which already has nuclear power stations along its coasts - yes, even on its Channel coasts!!! Bearing in mind that nuclear contamination is no respector of international boundaries, we already face a potential threat. That being the case, we have nothing to lose if we start to build them ourselves.