In the Assembly, a moratorium on wind turbines and solar panels sows discord

Throughout the debates, the National Rally (RN) has consistently denounced expensive and "intermittent" energy sources. Following the vote, several MPs deplored a text that had become "incoherent," and speakers from the Socialist Party, the Green Party, and the LFI took to the microphone to denounce the vote and demand the text's withdrawal. This request was rejected by Industry Minister Marc Ferracci (Renaissance), who declared that he wanted the review to "come to a conclusion."

It could continue on Friday if it is not completed overnight. A formal vote on this bill, originally sponsored by Senator Daniel Gremillet (LR), which also enacts a massive revival of nuclear power , is scheduled for Tuesday. Several rebellious MPs challenged Macronist MPs in the chamber, asking them if they would approve this text at the time of the vote. If this were the case, the measure could be withdrawn during the rest of the shuttle, with the text due to return to the Senate for a second reading on July 8 and 9.

And the government had warned even before the debates that it would publish the decree setting out France's new energy roadmap for the period 2025-2035 before the end of the summer. That is, before the final adoption of this text, which was placed on the Assembly's agenda under pressure from the National Rally (RN). "When parliamentary democracy doesn't go the way they want, they get around it," RN MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy lashed out on X, in response to demands for withdrawal from the left.

The day before, the National Rally had already secured a victory, with MPs approving the restart of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, which was shut down in 2020. On Thursday, the rapporteur of the text, Antoine Armand (Renaissance), while also rejecting the request for withdrawal, castigated the introduction of the moratorium as an "economic and industrial catastrophe." "What was adopted (Thursday), I say this with gravity and solemnity, is completely irresponsible," and "devastating," lamented Marc Ferracci, deploring the "signal" sent to industrial players.

The Renewable Energy Union (SER) had expressed alarm in advance Thursday morning about the text's turn of events. France Renouvelables, a specialized professional organization with more than 360 members, denounced after the vote an amendment "argued with false elements." This vote is "one of the largest redundancy plans decided in the Assembly" with "the direct destruction of 80,000 jobs," the organization added, calling on "national representation to come to its senses." "The government will assume" its responsibilities "until the end of this text, in accordance with our democratic procedures," Ferracci continued.

Earlier in the day, the Assembly approved a renewable energy production target for 2030, giving the green light to an amendment by Socialist MP Marie-Noëlle Battistel. This stipulates that of the 560 terawatt hours (TWh) of carbon-free electricity that must be produced in 2030, "at least 200" must be "from renewable sources." This amendment, which received a recommendation from Antoine Armand and the government, was adopted with the votes of all groups, including LR, against the RN and its Ciottist allies in the UDR.