Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn

Has Macron shot France’s energy industry in the foot?

Gas prices are soaring. Europe could be about to witness electricity shortages. Power companies are collapsing by the day, and, on top of all that, the government is set to phase out traditional energy to meet its net zero target. 

So might think that a cable to ship in cheap, greener electricity from the other side of the Channel is something of a knight in shining armour. Yet the government blocked the proposal today, and it was absolutely right to do so. Britain may need all the electricity it can get its hands on right now — but the last thing it should do is increase its dependence on Macron and Putin.

Britain may need all the electricity it can get its hands on right now — but the last thing it should do is increase its dependence on Macron and Putin

The Aquind plan has been knocking around for a couple of years. It was an ambitious project to build a cable from Normandy into Portsmouth.

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