The government on Wednesday called on the French to multiply “small daily gestures”, but without constraint, in order to save energy in the prospect of a cut in the supply of Russian gas in the fall.
“We are asking citizens, French women and men, to make an effort,” said government spokesman Olivier Véran after the Council of Ministers, saying that “there is no small gesture” in matter of energy saving.
A collective effort
“Every energy that we are collectively able to save today is energy that we will be sure to have available next fall and winter,” he explained, before citing a few examples that would reduce consumption.
“When we go on weekends or on vacation, we unplug as many electrical outlets as possible because otherwise they continue to consume energy”, he underlined, also calling for the wifi to be cut, to “lower a little air conditioning, now that the temperatures are expected to drop” and to turn off the lights in the rooms that are not used.
No constraints
Olivier Véran, however, ruled out any constraint to force the French to save energy: “It’s not our philosophy”, he assured. Europeans fear a harsh winter and fear that Russia will cut off the gas in the fall.
The European Commission also presented on Wednesday an arsenal of measures which will allow the Twenty-Seven to face a possible interruption of Russian supplies – which constituted 40% of their imports until last year.
This plan provides for a 15% reduction in European gas demand to overcome the fall in Russian deliveries, in particular by limiting the heating of certain buildings or by encouraging companies to reduce their needs.