PARIS (Reuters) – No option should be ruled out over the restructuring of EDF, including a possible nationalization of the French energy company, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.
“No option, from the moment we open a new era, should be ruled out. We must look at them all calmly,” said the minister on BFM Business radio, in response to a question on a nationalization of EDF.
“Not all of them necessarily belong to the same calendar. But all the options are on the table,” said Bruno Le Maire.
At the beginning of the year, Bercy had indicated that a scenario of renationalization of EDF was not “on the table”.
Controlled at almost 84% by the French State, EDF is faced with significant financial needs to invest while the group is already heavily indebted.
Checks and repairs to be carried out in order to remedy the corrosion problems detected on certain reactors have also forced it to revise downwards its nuclear production estimates.
Emmanuel Macron launched last week the vast project of the renewal of the French nuclear fleet by announcing the construction of six new new generation reactors (EPR2), with the possibility of eight additional reactors.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, EDF shares gained more than 2% in the first exchanges. The value has lost more than 20% since the start of the year, after falling 19.89% in 2021.
(Written by Matthieu Protard, with Benjamin Mallet, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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