France does not have too much electricity. It has too little electrification.

Most of France's electricity comes from nuclear, around 68% in 2025. Renewables (hydro, wind and solar) still produce about 27%. And France has a surplus: in 2025 it exported a record 92 TWh, about 17% of everything produced.

So many people now ask: why build more renewables?

Indeed, nobody here really questions the existing nuclear fleet anymore. Meanwhile, the new energy plan foresees 6 new reactors, with 8 more as an option. But as Vincent Maillard reminded us, they will not produce for another 10 to 15 years, and they will cost 5 times more than the historic fleet. And I won't even start on the need to diversify when 68% of our electricity comes from only one source!

Xavier Blot rightly highlighted that around 60% of the energy we consume is still fossil and imported - the dependency France has every day. So instead of stopping one of the cheapest sources of electricity in the world, why don't we electrify more, cut this import dependency and rely more on the electricity we have in abundance in France?

David LOLO shared some concrete examples of how this is already happening in France:

ArcelorMittal, Dunkirk: €1.3 bn for an electric furnace that will produce around 2 million tonnes of steel a year from 2029, starting with recycled scrap instead of coal-based blast furnaces.

Verallia, Cognac: the first 100% electric furnace in Europe for food and beverage glass, running since 2024, with around 60% less CO2 than a traditional furnace.

Hopefully more electrification projects to come.

The photo above is from the panel discussion.