President Emmanuel Macron has appointed the former general director of the electrical engineering group Schneider Electric to succeed EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy (67), who is leaving early, the Élysée Palace announced on Thursday in Paris. Parliament still has to approve the appointment. Before moving to the private sector, Rémont (53) worked in various positions at the Paris Ministry of Economy and Finance.
EDF is already largely state-owned. President Macron announced in March that he wanted to fully nationalize EDF again. This step is intended to ensure the planned expansion of nuclear power in France. Macron envisions a renaissance in nuclear power, with the construction of six to eight new power plants. The independent supply security of the country is to be secured in this way. In the short term, however, the EDF boss will have to devote himself to the aging and weakening current power plant park. Half of the 56 reactors are currently off the grid for maintenance and repairs.
Rémont’s appointment is the second time in a few months that the state has tapped into a top executive from Schneider Electric. In April, the company’s Vice President for Europe, Christel Heydemann, was appointed CEO of the state-owned telecommunications group Orange.
At the EURONEXT in Paris, the news didn’t cause any movement. The EDF share moves temporarily at 11.905 euros around the previous day’s close.
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