French Government Stall Shale Gas Exploration

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The French Government Will Not Take Up Proposals For Shale Gas Exploration

France is looking into alternative energy and there has been much controversy over licences that were granted to large corporations to explore for shale gas.  One of the largest areas is near where I live.

Happily, the new French President, François Hollande, has said that he will not allow this exploration to continue.

Below is the latest turn in the controversy :

On Monday, Louis Gallois delivered his report on competitiveness, which proposes the exploitation of shale gas.  At the same time, Arnaud Montebourg, who is the Minister of Industrial Renewal, has declared himself in favour of the proposal.

The government, however, has announced that it would not take up the proposals made in the report regarding the shale gas exploitation.

So for a time at least, Matignon has halted the resumption of the gaz de schiste controversy.

According to the Prime Minister the proposal has not been accepted and the line taken by the President of the Republic during the Environmental Conference remains unchanged.

Louis Gallois, who was head of EADS – European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company – until May 2012, presented his report to Jean-Marc Ayrault yesterday morning.

The principle measures featured in the report were : lower labour costs, a boost to innovation, end of 35-hour working week … and the exploitation of shale gas.  More details of the Gallois Report will be revealed later, but Gallois said that he has presented “22 measures to increase competitiveness and lead industrial recovery”.

According to Paris Match, the Gallois Report contains a chapter on the need to exploit the shale gas that France holds, but it did not say whether or not it mentioned the Brignoles licence specifically.  According to the magazine, Louis Gallois continued  “France has two main wealth streams – nuclear power and shale gas.  It is out of the question to ignore this fact”.  It suggests conducting research on extraction techniques to access the gas.

At the same time, Arnaud Montebourg reiterated that France should consider the advantages of shale gas.

This position highlights the differences within the government on the country’s energy strategy, with François Hollande commitment to ban the process of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, for the extraction of shale gas because of the environmental risks.

In September, the President had even ruled against shale gas.  François Hollande announced the rejection of the exploration permit for Brignoles.

The ‘Permis de Brignoles’ has very strong opposition in the Var, with many villages displaying signs at their entrance saying “Non au Gaz de Schiste”.  The area covered is 6 758 km2, stretching from Aubagne to Grasse and from Cuers to Verdon – almost three quarters of the Var department.
A report, earlier in the year, in Australia concluded that it faces many hurdles before it can be commercially viable.  Whilst in the US, unconventional gas has become the dominant supply, with shale gas providing 40 per cent of total demand.

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