French President Emmanuel Macron addresses media on Sept. 5. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for a 10% reduction in the country's energy usage in an attempt to prevent having to ration energy usage in the upcoming winter months, AP reports.
Driving the news: "The best energy is that which we don’t consume," Macron said Monday at a news conference, adding that potentially forced energy savings are being prepared "in case," per AP.
- "The answer is up to us," Macron said, urging French residents to scale back energy usage where possible, including heating and air conditioning, per France 24.
- Macron also said that any forced energy "cuts will happen as a last resort."
The big picture: Macron's remarks come after a string of government-imposed restrictions have been implemented across Europe to curb energy consumption.
- The impact of Russia's war in Ukraine, plus sanctions and economic embargoes drastically cutting Russian gas supplies, have had impacts on energy across Europe.
Go deeper ... In Europe, energy crisis drives growing cutbacks