Media release, Saintes, 10 November 2021

On November 9, M. Macron gave probably the best of his speeches in the "Covid" period, the most clever and seductive. In it he credited himself - with unaccustomed modesty, since he said "we" instead of "I" - with the presumed success of the battle against Covid, which began badly, however, and with the supposed economic effects of his health decisions.

But we should not be taken in by his sleight of hand. For example this passage: "Work is our means for building our energy independence... But if we want to pay for our energy at reasonable rates and not depend on foreigners, we must continue to economise our energy use and at the same time invest in the production of non-carbon energy within France. That is why, to guarantee our energy independence, to guarantee the provision of electricity in France, we are going to do something we have not done for decades - relaunch the building of nuclear reactors in our country."

Emmanuel Macron forgets that the production of energy through nuclear plants is already more burdensome than using renewable techniques and will only become more and more onerous; and that nuclear power is far from being "non-carbon" (and thus good for the climate) - not once you take into account the upstream part (building the plants, getting the fuel), and the operational part (66% of the heat produced goes into the atmosphere, with greenhouse gas emissions such as R134a, 3700 times more damaging than CO2, and radioactive effluent. etc), plus the downstream coasts (dismantling the plants, guarding the radioactive wastes for millenia...). Besides, there are the risks of major accidents - like the one that nearly happened at Blaye on 27 December 1999 - and other costs (human, environmental and financial) so exorbitant that nobody dares assume them, except the State - in our name and at our expense.

In addition M. Macron presents a whopping lie, because nuclear energy, unlike alternative energies and contrary to what he says, makes us totally dependent on foreign sources : it needs uranium, a form of non-renewable fossil fuel of which not one kilo is now produced in France. As a result there will be future wars over uranium.
Nuclear energy, in fact, is a scandalous swindle on the grounds of climate, ecology, security... and democracy! For what allows Macron to affirm that "we are going to relaunch the building of nuclear reactors in our country" ? What except his autocratic conviction that he just has to decide something and the French people will immediately accept it and vote for him!

Here is another conjuring trick: he says that "Yes, France has the means to strengthen her position as a great power in education, industry and agriculture, the means to innovate, to create and produce goods while maintaining our climate and biodiversity goals..." He just forgets to say that France exports herself as above all a great military power, the world’s number 3 arms-vendor and at present the 3rd nuclear power after the US and Russia. In this way he omits the sole reason why he is selling us the notion that nuclear is the energy of the future, while in truth it is a bankrupt energy, catastrophic in all respects. Macron is selling us death just as he is selling death to the rest of the world.

For example to the United Arab Emirates, which are waging war in Yemen, and are sponsoring his Paris Peace Forum. Cf. Ventes d’armes et langue de bois : la tartuferie française (Letter to Florence Parly). Even worse: Macron is encouraging the proliferation of nuclear weapons by the perpetual and expensive modernisation of our ones.

Jean-Marie Matagne
Candidate for the Presidency of France 2022
For a Convivial France in a Livable World without carbon emissions, nuclear technology or militarism
contact@acdn.net