PARIS (Reuters) – The government will appoint Luc Rémont to the general management of EDF after the departure of the current CEO, Jean-Bernard Lévy, reported Friday BFM Business, a tempered information in Bercy where it is assured that the decision does not has not yet been taken.
“Luc Rémont is a very good candidate but no decision has been made at this stage,” said a source at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
EDF did not wish to comment, recalling that any announcement on this subject would come from the Elysée.
According to BFM Business, which refers to an “imminent” announcement, the other candidates “have been warned that they will not be chosen” and “it is also recorded that Luc Rémont will be accompanied by a president to form a governance with two heads”, or in this case of a president to respect parity.
This non-executive president could be Marianne Laigneau, the boss of Ennedis, who is in competition with Luc Rémont for the post of CEO, understands BFM Business.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters this week that the current head of international affairs at Schneider Electric is a favorite to succeed Jean-Bernard Lévy, as Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.
According to these sources, Luc Rémont would have the favors of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, but it is to the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron that the final choice falls.
The French State announced in July its intention to launch a takeover bid at 12 euros per share on the approximately 16% of EDF’s capital that it does not yet hold and to replace its CEO, Jean-Bernard Lévy, while the group is faced with a historically low availability of its nuclear fleet, which is aggravating the energy crisis in Europe.
Thirty of the 56 reactors in the French nuclear fleet are currently shut down for maintenance operations or corrosion problems, which is helping to keep electricity prices at record levels as Europe seeks to do without Russian gas and that France, usually the largest exporter of electricity in the region, has become a net importer.
Some analysts also believe that forecasts for restarting EDF reactors by winter may prove to be too optimistic and that France could be forced to ration electricity to meet its own needs.
The last few weeks have been marked by an indirect pass of arms between Jean-Bernard Lévy and Emmanuel Macron concerning the maintenance of the French nuclear fleet.
(Written by Myriam Rivet and Tangi Salaün, with Leigh Thomas, edited by Nicolas Delame and Sophie Louet)