Faced with the colossal sums to be mobilized to finance the construction of new nuclear reactors, the government could direct part of the hundreds of billions of euros in savings deposited by the French on their Livret A to these sites, according to the newspaper
Les Échos
.
"The Livret A is one of the rare resources which makes it possible to deploy very long-term financing, this corresponds quite well to the profile of nuclear power"
, observes a source within the public authorities in the Thursday edition of the economic daily.
Contacted Wednesday evening by AFP, the Ministry of Energy Transition affirms that
“the options for financing new nuclear are being studied, without any orientation having been arbitrated at this stage
”.
"Several options are being studied
," confirms the Ministry of the Economy.
Some 55 million French people have a Livret A for total savings of more than 375 billion euros at the end of 2022, according to figures from the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC).
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As part of the roadmap unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron a year ago, France aims to build six new generation EPR2 reactors, with an option for eight more.
According to EDF, the construction cost of the six new EPR2s is estimated at 51.7 billion euros (excluding financing costs), plus 4.6 billion in the event of difficulty in implementation.
Managed jointly by the Caisse des dépôts and the banking networks, the Livret A is mainly used to finance social housing.
"I am convinced that popular savings, the Livret A, the sustainable and solidarity development booklet, the popular savings booklet which, in total, has reached 500 billion euros today, can finance the transformation of our energy production apparatus,”
CDC boss Eric Lombard recently told Parliament.
Contacted Wednesday evening by AFP, the Caisse des dépôts indicated that
“the choices on the economic model and the carrying structure are planned for 2023 and at the hand of the public authorities”
.
