Bruno Retailleau's Opinion Against Renewable Energy: "It bothers me" that he remains in the government, says Laurent Saint-Martin

The Minister of the Interior, who is also the president of the Republicans, called on Wednesday to stop funding renewable energy and to focus entirely on nuclear power.

The Interior Minister's stance continues to cause a stir within the executive branch . "It bothers me" that Bruno Retailleau remains in government, declared Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad, a guest on "Questions politiques" on Sunday, July 6, on France Inter and franceinfo (channel 16).

On Wednesday, in an article published in Le Figaro , the Minister of the Interior and president of the Republicans (LR) spoke out in favor of absolute priority for nuclear power and against public support for wind and photovoltaic power, which according to him "only bring an intermittence to the French energy [mix] that is costly to manage."

Asked whether Bruno Retailleau should or should not "remain the ally of the central bloc" , Laurent Saint-Martin replied that "it is not up to him to decide whether he should stay or not" , but that "of course, it bothers him" . "I start from a fairly simple principle, when you take positions on policies that are not those of your ministerial portfolio and that are contrary to what we call arbitration, that is to say that it is the Prime Minister who decides the policy and the direction of the government, effectively, it does not make sense, it cannot exist" , he asserts.

"I think Bruno Retailleau is a better Minister of the Interior than he would be a Minister of the Environment."

Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad

in "Political Questions" on France Inter and franceinfo (channel 16)

In his column, Bruno Retailleau "made a double error, a fundamental error, an error of judgment," adds the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, "and an error that has been repeated often by certain political parties, including the National Rally for a long time, namely that renewable energies should not be part of our energy mix. This is a profound error, we have demonstrated this with all the investments that have been made in recent years," he recalls.

A mistake in form, according to Laurent Saint-Martin, since "when you are a minister, you are in solidarity with the government's policy, period." "The fact that Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Les Républicains party, is speaking out may exist, it may be a position, but here, he is also Minister of the Interior."

The French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade calls for "collective discipline" within the government, "to ensure that everyone takes a position first on what concerns them" and "to avoid cacophony." Laurent Saint-Martin, however, recognizes that "we should not always be offended by differences of opinion between members of a government that is a coalition government."