The majority of parliamentarians expressed themselves on Wednesday against the arrival of former minister Emmanuelle Wargon at the head of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), but did not gather the qualified majority necessary to derail this desired appointment. by the Elysee. Emmanuelle Wargon received a total of 43 votes for and 48 against her appointment to both chambers, according to a count sent by the Senate services.
According to the Constitution, parliamentarians must however gather “at least three fifths of the votes cast” to oppose a nomination proposed by the president. In detail, the candidate gathered in the Senate 13 votes for, 20 votes against and 1 blank ballot. In the Assembly, his name received 30 votes for, 28 votes against and 2 abstentions.
“Recasing with forceps”, according to MP RN Meizonnet
Emmanuelle Wargon had been proposed in July by the Élysée to chair the CRE, the independent authority responsible for guaranteeing the proper functioning of the French energy markets “for the benefit of the consumer”, a mission that is all the more important now with the crisis in international markets.
After the announcement of the result of the vote, the deputy RN Nicolas Meizonnet denounced Wednesday a “recasing with forceps” considered “scandalous”. “She will still be appointed according to the 3/5th rule”, while a “majority of parliamentarians” opposes her appointment, he regretted on Twitter.
🔴 SCANDALOUS! So, if a majority of parliamentarians oppose the appointment of @EmmWargon at the head of the CRE (48 ❌, 43 ✅), she will still be appointed according to the 3/5th rule. How could our fellow citizens understand this recasing with forceps!?? #DirectAN
— Nicolas Meizonnet (@NMeizonnet) August 3, 2022
“I hope that independence will prevail in future decisions! “, for her part, pleaded Senator LR Marta de Cidrac.
Emmanuelle Wargon is to succeed Jean-François Carenco, appointed Minister Delegate for Overseas, as head of the CRE.
“I am in favor of nuclear electricity, clearly”
Hearing Wednesday morning by parliamentarians, she assured them of her independence. “I turned a page, I made a political commitment, this commitment ends with this appointment”, said Emmanuelle Wargon, who says she wants to lead the CRE “in complete freedom”. The former minister outlined three issues: “security of supply and energy sovereignty”, “consumer protection and the competitiveness of our businesses” and “acceleration of the ecological transition”.
“To achieve all these objectives, we must work on sobriety and efficiency, the development of renewable energies and support for nuclear power,” she explained. “I am in favor of nuclear electricity, clearly”, “both on the maintenance of existing reactors and on the development of new nuclear”, she specified.
In this regard, she justified herself about the final shutdown of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in 2020, while she was in government, much criticized by the right in particular. “The decision to close Fessenheim had been taken a long time before,” she argued.