In the Assembly, deputies adopted a moratorium on wind turbines and solar panels

A serious setback. Discussions in the National Assembly on France's energy future became heated on Thursday, June 19, with the surprise adoption of a moratorium on the development of new wind and photovoltaic installations, against the government's advice.

This is an amendment to the law on France's energy future, put forward by LR MP Jérôme Nury, which was narrowly adopted by the right and the far right against the depleted benches of the left and the central bloc groups. Throughout the debates, the RN has consistently denounced expensive and "intermittent" energy sources.

Following the vote, speakers from the Socialist Party, the Green Party, and the LFI took to the microphones to denounce the vote and demand the text's withdrawal. This request was rejected by Industry Minister Marc Ferracci (Renaissance), who stated that he wanted the review to "come to an end." It could continue on Friday if it is not completed by Thursday night.

A formal vote on this bill, originally introduced by Senator Daniel Gremillet (LR), is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24. Several rebellious MPs challenged Macron's MPs in the chamber, asking if they would approve the bill at the time of the vote. If so, the measure could be withdrawn during the shuttle, with the text scheduled to return to the Senate for a second reading on July 8 and 9.

The government, for its part, warned 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.

"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 achieved a victory, with MPs approving the restart of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, which closed 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," forgetting the setback it also inflicted on France's climate ambitions. The country is also far behind on its renewable energy targets , set by the European Union.

"What was adopted (Thursday), I say this with gravity, with solemnity, is completely irresponsible" and "devastating" , Marc Ferracci also lamented, deploring the "signal" sent to industrial players. "The government will assume" its responsibilities " until the end of this text, in compliance with our democratic procedures" , Marc Ferracci continued, however.

The Renewable Energy Union had expressed alarm in advance on Thursday morning about the turn of events in the text. For its part, France Renouvelables, a specialized professional organization bringing together more than 360 members, denounced after the vote an amendment "argued with the support of false elements." This vote is "one of the largest redundancy plans decided in the Assembly" with "the direct destruction of 80,000 jobs," adds the organization, which calls on "national representation to come to its senses."

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 wise opinion from Antoine Armand and the government, that is to say they did not pronounce themselves, was adopted with the votes of all the groups, including LR, against the RN and its Ciottist allies of the UDR. "How can we make 200 terawatt hours of renewable electricity without onshore wind power, without offshore wind power and without photovoltaics?" asked Matthias Tavel (LFI). Antoine Armand also challenged the LR on the dissonance between these votes on the moratorium and renewable energies, asking for "clarification" .

The left, for its part, regretted that the amendments aimed at providing quantified objectives by sector (wind, hydraulic, solar, etc.) had not been retained, seeing this as an "extremely bad signal" sent to the sector.