Posted 16 апреля 2023,, 09:46

Published 16 апреля 2023,, 09:46

Modified 17 апреля 2023,, 07:31

Updated 17 апреля 2023,, 07:31

The protests have caused enormous damage to the French economy, reports Reuters

The protests have caused enormous damage to the French economy, reports Reuters

16 апреля 2023, 09:46
The French energy giant Electricite de France (EDF) lost about €1 billion. at their nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants, they are due to the latest strikes related to the pension reform of President Emmanuel Macron.

As the Reuters news agency found out, EDF, which is in dire need of additional workers, will be forced to refuse to hire 3.5 thousand new employees this year due to the losses incurred.

Electricite de France, admits the management of the largest company in Europe, is going through difficult times. In 2022, the French energy industry suffered record losses of €17.94 billion. The reason for this was the temporary closure of almost half of the company's reactors for repairs, which coincided with the energy crisis in the EU.

Then, in the autumn, mass strikes against pension reform began, which led to the disruption of maintenance and repair of nuclear reactors. As a result, the emergency situation in the country may shift the schedule of NPP maintenance by a year or even two.

The net debt of the EDF group, writes Reuters, rose to €64.5 billion. euros compared to €43 billion. a year earlier.

In France, they began to calculate the losses inflicted by strikers on the entire economy of the country. According to the leader of the Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of France, Jean-Eddy Mesnil, just one day of a nationwide strike costs the country €1.5 billion.

It turned out that as a result of only two protests on the railway organized by trade unions, the state and private companies lost more than €600 million. Moreover, this amount does not include compensation for travelers and cargo senders.

The pension reform has been officially adopted. Some major trade unions in France, including CGT, promised in May to "stop the country" by blocking the movement of planes, trains, subways and cars, as well as hindering the work of schools, ports, oil refineries, and even nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants. The goal is still the same – to force Macron and the government to abandon pension reform.

"We are entering a completely new level of struggle for our social rights, and we will achieve our goal!", CGT union leader Philippe Martinez promised reporters.

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