Presidential election: Retailleau (LR) wants to reduce electricity bills by "the equivalent of two months"

A few days ago, the LR presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau promised to reduce the electricity bills of the French by "the equivalent of two months" from 2027 onwards, by "going all out" on nuclear power at the expense of renewables, for which he intends to eliminate public subsidies.

"I want cheap, carbon-free and sovereign electricity," said the leader of the Republicans during a press conference following a visit to the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear power plant (Aube).

"My goal will be to save the equivalent of two months' bills from 2027 onwards," he added, criticizing "the bad choices" of Emmanuel Macron "and his governments," an implicit jab at his presidential rival, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

If elected president, the former Minister of the Interior pledges to immediately reduce the bill by 5% by excluding electricity from energy savings certificates (CEE).

This financing mechanism for energy renovation, energy transition, and energy savings relies on contributions from energy suppliers, such as TotalEnergies, Engie, and fuel retailers, based on the "polluter pays" principle. However, part of the cost is passed on to consumers at the pump and through their bills.

According to Bruno Retailleau, the bill will decrease by another 5 to 10% from 2030, with "the repeal of the multi-year energy program" (PPE 3) which he estimates to cost "15 to 20 billion euros in annual charges", "i.e. an increase of 25 to 30% in the price of electricity".

The LR candidate also intends to eliminate subsidies estimated at 6,6 billion euros in 2026 for wind and photovoltaic power, believing that this sector is "now mature" and therefore no longer needs public support.

Bruno Retailleau's project also aims to put existing reactors "into an 80-year operating trajectory" and ensure "rigorous management of the construction of the new EPR2s" planned for the Penly, Gravelines and Bugey sites "within deadlines and costs".

"Rather than renewing the authorization of a power plant every 10 years, wondering each time whether it will continue to exist, we propose to set a horizon of 80 years from the outset," says LR, which intends to maintain the verification of the state of the reactor every 10 years.