On May 23rd local time, French Economy Minister Le Maire announced on the local radio station RTL that the French government will hold all shares of Electricité de France (EDF) from June 8th onwards, which means EDF will be completely nationalized from privatization. This decision aims to strengthen the country's energy independence and promote the construction of six new-generation nuclear reactors.

With the complete nationalization of EDF, the government plans to set clear requirements for increasing nuclear power production to fill the gap left by Russian natural gas. As European natural gas prices soar and Russian gas supply incidents continue, the French government believes it needs to utilize its resource advantage and technical drive to ensure stable energy supply.

Despite the decreasing trend of nationalization, especially due to several privatizations in French history, the French government believes this decision is timely and worth the risks. The French Economy Minister stated, "Ensuring energy security is crucial for industrialized countries. Therefore, we have decided to bring EDF into the public sector so that we can better serve national interests in developing and monitoring the energy sector."

After taking over EDF's stake, the government will increase nuclear power production to meet the growing energy demand, ensure stable supply, and meet France's environmental goals. As a developed country, France has a high usage rate of green energy, particularly nuclear power. In the foreseeable future, as operating costs of renewable energy facilities continue to decline, the French government is expected to further promote clean energy adoption.

However, this move still causes controversy among many market commentators. They believe that large state-owned institutions under government control are prone to waste resources and inefficiency. In addition, retired seniors' pensions will be directly linked to EDF's financial situation, and their retirement rights will be threatened if the company encounters any problems.

Nonetheless, French authorities remain confident that this nationalization measure will bring more benefits while enjoying market share advantages in France's comprehensive nuclear power industry chain and improvements in related areas such as automation and AI development.

According to Brand Value Network, the plan to nationalize EDF by France remains a controversial topic. Although the decision carries risks and uncertainties, mastering future energy is crucial for the French government. According to "（Daguan•Keweiwei）The Third World Brand Value Top 900" ranking list released on March 18, 2023, the brand value of Electricité de France (EDF) was 35.689 billion CNY, ranking the 693rd.

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作者：Trina