The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has called for calm to the French population before the arrival of winter and recalled that the possibility of power cuts due to lack of supply due to the war in Ukraine is only an «extreme case» that the authorities are contemplating as a measure of last resort.
«It is normal for the government to prepare for such a circumstance», Macron has spoken about the so-called «load shedding», avoidable if the population makes an exercise of «responsibility», he told the French channel TF1.
«Let no one panic,» Macron asked about a measure simply on paper because «sometimes, the unthinkable happens,» he said in reference to the sudden crisis caused by the pandemic.
The president recalled that the authorities have many tools to reduce the pressure on the power grid, before resorting to cuts, such as the declaration of a temporary drop in voltage or the «planned» interruption of power supply to a small part of the industrial sector.
«But if, all together, we stick to the austerity plan, that is, the 10 percent reduction of the usual consumption, and if we are a little careful and (state operator) Électricité de France continues to do its job, we will get by, even if December and January turn out to be particularly cold,» he said.
«The next few weeks,» the Elysée tenant concluded, «depend on us.»
