A text that has remained discreet but that, however, could change the situation of the Executive. The deputies are studying since Monday afternoon the renewable energy bill that wants to facilitate the implementation of new wind and solar farms. While the right in the Assembly is very reluctant there, Agnès Pannier-Runacher has multiplied the winks to the left. No assurance of being able to convince them.
The executive has no choice but to cut corners in the hope of attracting the goodwill of the opposition. In a context of relative majority and while the Executive only has 49.3 until the end of the parliamentary session next summer, a vote against the text will mean its removal from the political agenda.
Not 49.3 on the show
“We are not going to burn our cartridge for this text. We prefer to keep it warm for retirement ”, a majority frame emphatically translates.
First target group of this seduction operation: the Republicans who have v who can convince the right-wing deputies on certain points -such as the reduction of the electricity bills of the municipalities that will house wind farms-, other measures are a red line for the LR. Among these: the possibility of installing
In an attempt to reverse the trend and convince, the government first made the Senate study the text, with a right-wing majority. The maneuver was aimed at trapping his colleagues in the chamber, betting that they would not dare unravel the work of their LR counterparts in the upper house.
The bet seems to have failed so far: if the senators have voted for a version of the text that can convince the right-wing deputies on certain points -such as the reduction of the electricity bill of the municipalities that will house wind farms-, other measures are a red line for LR. Among these: the possibility of installing offshore wind turbines 22 kilometers from the French coast.
“It is not about saying yes to wind turbines at all costs”
“We will have a very high level of demand on the text to get it voted on,” LR Annie Genevard MP explains to BFMTV.com.
One of his colleagues wants to be even more blunt, showing that the government’s turn to win over the right is likely to be extremely tight. It must be said that the subject is highly flammable. “Unless substantial modifications are made, it is not about saying yes to wind turbines at all costs,” says an elected official from southern France.
Reconciliation with La France insoumise
For its part, the National Association should not vote for this bill. Marine Le Pen also called on her presidential program to stop all new installations of wind turbines and to be dismantled without replacing all those that have reached the end of their life.
In Agnès Pannier-Runacher’s entourage, these positions are denounced as “ideological when renewable energies must unite the forces of all elected officials” and when power cuts could occur next January.
In search of allies, the government turned a blind eye to the Nupes. While Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne sometimes have very harsh words against the left, the Minister for Energy Transition has not stopped multiplying the telephone calls since August to convince them. With some success.
“The rebels have approached us since September to meet and have a constructive approach,” underlines one of those in Agnès Pannier-Runacher’s entourage.
“All conditions met” for the left to “vote on this text”
Proof that the executive is putting the package together and wants to convince the Nupes: 15% of the amendments taken up by the rapporteur for the bill, Pierre Cazeneuve (Renaissance), come from the seats on the left. These include, for example, a renewable energy mediator.
“All the conditions are in place” for the left deputies to “vote this text”, the minister even advanced in the columns of the Sunday newspaper.
But the road still seems long until the vote. There remain many red lines for the Nupes, such as the possibility defended by the government of allowing neighboring neighbors to a wind turbine to benefit from a reduction in their bill.
“We are going towards a ‘no'”
This arrangement would give the impression of “buying people”, says Manon Meunier, leader of the LFI group.
“As it is, therefore, we are moving towards a ‘no’. The text fully accepts seeing renewable energy as a tool alongside nuclear energy. We want to go to a 100% renewable scenario”, continues judging the deputy of LFI, Gabriel Amard.
However, the efforts of Agnès Pannier-Runacher were noticed on the rebels’ benches.
“It is the first time since 2017 that I see a minister open to our amendments, willing to discuss the substance. But for the moment, too many things still bother us,” the rebel parliamentarian Loïc Prudhomme also advances.
Socialists “on guard”
In the ranks of socialists and environmentalists, we could loosen up and possibly vote in favor of the bill. To show its goodwill, Renaissance agreed to remove a provision that allowed the installation of renewable energy for “compelling reasons of greater public interest,” including in areas protected for biodiversity.
Problem: This provision could come into play again during parliamentary discussions and push the PS and the Socialists to vote against it.
“We know very well that the version that suits us broadly will not be the one that will be voted on in ten days. That is why we are all a little on our guard,” translates a socialist collaborator.
Good point for Agnès Pannier-Runacher
One thing is certain: the executive would regard the adoption of the bill as a real victory for Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
“If the text passes, it will be the first time that the National Assembly approves a text with the voices of the left, in addition to social reforms. It would be historic,” a government collaborator continues.
And enough to give a little more political weight to the Minister for the Energy Transition, who will address an equally complicated issue in the coming months: the future nuclear bill.
Source: BFM TV
