In front of the Medef, Elisabeth Borne asks companies to prepare an energy sobriety plan

In a delicate economic context – inflation, tensions over energy supplies – Elisabeth Borne was firmly awaited by the bosses on Monday. His speech, on the first day of the Meeting of Entrepreneurs of France (REF), serves as the government’s economic return.

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened the Medef summer school with a speech delivered from his office in kyiv, the French prime minister succeeded him. “The summer we have just spent is a powerful wake-up call“, began the Prime Minister by evoking the climatic disasters which could affect the French regions.

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“Climate change is no longer an inconvenient truth, it is a destructive reality“, she believes, addressing at the same time the threat that the war in Ukraine poses to democratic values. “I want to assure Ukraine of France’s full support, we will be by its side until the end. We discussed seven sanctions packages against Russia, with one objective: to make the price of war unbearable for Russia“.

“No, there are no state superprofits»

Elisabeth Borne acknowledged: “Yes, these sanctions have a cost. Freedom has a price. This war has heavy, lasting consequences“. The Prime Minister repeated that the State had assumed its responsibilities: “We have acted to limit the effects of rising prices and protect the purchasing power of French people“, she said, adding that “new measures will come into force in the coming days“. And wanted to respond to Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, who had assured a few minutes earlier at the podium that the State had made superprofits thanks to the energy crisis. “No, there are no superprofits on the state side“, she said.

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“We must implement radical and innovative solutions and initiate powerful changes in the way we produce and invest» called Élisabeth Borne, inviting companies, associations and citizens to «unitein the face of future difficulties, particularly in terms of energy supply. “There is no immediate alternative to compensatethe decrease in Russian gas imports, she warned. “We already know that we will have less gas this winter than in other years“, she acknowledged. Elisabeth Borne, on the other hand, assured that gas storage in France would be “100%by next winter.

Reduce energy consumption by 10%

“This crisis is a new challenge for European solidarity because we would strongly suffer the consequences of a European economic slowdown. We have only one path: lower energy consumption. This drop, I propose that we organize it together“, enjoined the Prime Minister. According to her, we must fight against energy consumption “which are not essential“.

The pact she proposes is therefore toprefer the chosen energy savings rather than the chosen cuts“. Sobriety is also a responsibility as a citizen. “Everyone must ask themselves what they can do to consume less at their level and given their means.explained Élisabeth Borne, indicating that a vast information campaign on eco-gestures will be launched in the coming weeks. And to add that sobriety finally concerns companies of course. “The first concrete commitments have been made, particularly in mass distribution“.

“I await the proposals made by Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, underlined the Prime Minister. The model of an ambassador in each company had worked well, I invite you to implement it. I therefore call on everyone to draw up their own plan in Septembercontinued Élisabeth Borne, who recalled the government’s plan to set up a “exchange market» rights to consume. A meeting is scheduled for the beginning of October to visualize the different energy consumption scenarios this winter and the possible rationing that will be necessary, she warned. “The coming months are just one step towards the deeper changes we need to make“, she said, promoting a “radical evolution“.

Global plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Elisabeth Borne announced the launch of a “global and complete planof reducing greenhouse gas emissions, whichwill be the counterpart of the European Green Deal“. He will establishour way of moving, of eating, of consuming“, she said, indicating that it will be built “sector by sector“. “From September, we will launch the first rounds of discussions and negotiations for the first three key sectors“, she announced. These are the forest, water and the production of carbon-free energy, around nuclear and renewable energies. This process will be initiatedduring the fall“with all sectors, “with the objective of achieving a complete vision of our ecological planning by the end of the year“, she said.

The head of government assured that the executive would lead “all the necessary reforms, some of them in the next few weeks, to remove the obstacles to full employment“. She cited in particular the reform of unemployment insurance, a bill of which will be presented to the National Assembly “as soon as parliament resumes“.

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Avoid symbolic measures

The president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux was the first to speak at the start of the afternoon, highlighting the efforts of companies to respect the objectives of the Paris Agreement for the climate. According to him, thestrategist state“must participate in the construction of a “decarbonized capitalism“.

“We must not give up producing, working. Businesses will do their part to achieve energy restraint targets“, he believes, citing the subjects of employee travel and production techniques. The boss of bosses also called on the government to “avoid symbolic measures“, evoking the current debates on private jets and golf courses.