Energy industry in France - statistics & facts
France’s energy sector is dominated by fossil fuels and nuclear energy; the latter of which France is the most strenuous supporter and largest producer in Europe. Renewables still accounted for the smallest share of the primary energy consumed in the country in 2022, compared to some 50 percent coming from oil, gas, and coal, and over 35 percent from nuclear fuel.
France’s production of primary energy evolved over the past 20 years, which saw the share of fossil fuels decrease by over 80 percent and that of renewables double.
One of the country’s ambitions for the next few years is a shift from an energy sector dependent on the international fossil fuel market to one that relies on domestic production of green electricity.
France during the energy crisis in 2022
As the rest of Europe, France went through an energy crisis in 2022, when gas supply tightened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and caused fossil fuels and electricity prices to hike up to unprecedented levels. In France, the impact of the crisis was exacerbated by its dependency on energy imports, to which Russia had contributed a relevant share prior to the conflict. Furthermore, the disruption of the country’s nuclear power generation as a result of corrosion in its reactors, and a decline in hydropower production due to a drought that hit the European continent, added to the destabilization of France’s energy sector. That year, France became a net importer of electricity. The prices of electricity and natural gas for households hit 23 and 10 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively, as of the first half of 2023.One of the country’s ambitions for the next few years is a shift from an energy sector dependent on the international fossil fuel market to one that relies on domestic production of green electricity.
