The European Champions of Energy: Russia and France Play the Game

Last week I told you the French are beating the Brits in the pan-European battle for Russia’s gas-fueled energy affection. But what exactly are they winning?

Across Europe, a new nationalism is in the air. France can take some of the blame for eroding the sense of inevitability that was once attached to European political unity. After all, it was the French voting public who, along with the Dutch, rejected the proposed EU constitution in mid 2005.


Though not necessarily as a direct result of the French and Dutch “no” votes, the past two years have seen a succession of cross-border curmudgeons protesting international corporate deals, many of them involving energy utilities.

For its part, France decided last year to create a “national champion” worth nearly 90 billion euros by joining its state-run energy firm Gaz de France with privately run Suez. That move came after the Italian utility company Enel bid for Suez. The Suez-GDF deal still has not been completed.

Energy and Capital