Shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday. France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the defense ministry's annual arms exports report. "I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn't ship any," Macron told France Inter radio.
France was not the major victim of the loss of Russian gas. Germany and Italy and a few other EU countries were amongst the worst hit by the Nord Stream gas pipelines destruction.
France still has its nuclear power plants for electricity and gas supplies from its North African colonies, and was in fact able to profit by selling energy to other EU countries back in 2022 when EU was hit by energy crunch from their Russia sanctions.
This is true, but the rapid rise in prices for gas and oil will impact every other aspect of their economy. They can't use nuclear energy for ships, planes, and cars. Unless most of France uses electric appliances, water heaters, and HVAC I think the resulting surge in oil and gas prices will still impact the average French citizen.
And that energy security from nuclear isn't guaranteed, the Alliance of Sahel States are much stronger and more united now than they were before. Today they have cheap uranium from niger, tomorrow might not be the case. Should a regional war break out in western Asia, we can assume at least a decade before gas and oil prices/demand go back to pre-war conditions. That's an optimistic estimate too.
The loss of industry and shrinking GDP of their neighbors has affected them and will continue to affect them; there's going to be an increase in EU citizens looking for a job outside of their country. Most people will try their best to stay as local as possible, if a German had to choose between France and the US- you get the point.
France has a lot to lose economically should a regional war begin, even if it is the most resistant to the effects.
Edit: France gets majority of its gas from Norway as of the moment, but as for crude oil they receive 2.6B$ worth of crude from Saudi Arabia. I got this from the OEC.
France was not the major victim of the loss of Russian gas. Germany and Italy and a few other EU countries were amongst the worst hit by the Nord Stream gas pipelines destruction.
France still has its nuclear power plants for electricity and gas supplies from its North African colonies, and was in fact able to profit by selling energy to other EU countries back in 2022 when EU was hit by energy crunch from their Russia sanctions.
This is true, but the rapid rise in prices for gas and oil will impact every other aspect of their economy. They can't use nuclear energy for ships, planes, and cars. Unless most of France uses electric appliances, water heaters, and HVAC I think the resulting surge in oil and gas prices will still impact the average French citizen.
And that energy security from nuclear isn't guaranteed, the Alliance of Sahel States are much stronger and more united now than they were before. Today they have cheap uranium from niger, tomorrow might not be the case. Should a regional war break out in western Asia, we can assume at least a decade before gas and oil prices/demand go back to pre-war conditions. That's an optimistic estimate too.
The loss of industry and shrinking GDP of their neighbors has affected them and will continue to affect them; there's going to be an increase in EU citizens looking for a job outside of their country. Most people will try their best to stay as local as possible, if a German had to choose between France and the US- you get the point.
France has a lot to lose economically should a regional war begin, even if it is the most resistant to the effects.
Edit: France gets majority of its gas from Norway as of the moment, but as for crude oil they receive 2.6B$ worth of crude from Saudi Arabia. I got this from the OEC.