Former opponent of president Nicolas Sarcozy Segolene Royal became minister of energy at critical time for French energy industry. President Hollande pledged to decrease France´s 77 per cent reliance on nuclear energy to half of total power output by about 2025. New energy law, which will significantly affect Electricite de France SA ’s billions of euro in annual investments will be introduced in June. Royal previously supported lowering dependence on nuclear energy. She was against a plan to develop a nuclear-waste repository at Bure and claimed she would halt the building of an energy power reactor in Normandy. Further, she backed the ban on shale gas development using hydraulic fracturing. Along with Poland, France is estimated to have some of the biggest shale reserves in Europe and shale gas exploration could help decrease prices of power for French industry.

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