French Environment Minister Ms Voyn

[dawnstar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Re: French Environment Minister Ms Voynet

dawn star wrote:
> 
> Looking more closely at the currrent uproar overtaking French
> Environment Minister in the Jospin socialist government here, we see Ms
> Dominique Voynet last July, met with TOTAL chief Thierry Desmarest and
> his PR spokesman Joseph Daniel at four-thirty in the afternoon July 6.
> 
> The European Parlimant voted on July 16 a human rights resolution
> "inviting" TOTAL TO STOP ITS INVESTMENT IN BURMA.
> 
> Does anyone have notes on this meeting? What did they say, what did Ms
> Dominque say to her nemesis at TOTAL. Did Thierry Desmarest and Joseph
> Daniel attempt another pr snow job on the environment minister?
> 
> They are now at each other throats, with Cogema standing to lose some 5
> billion dollars as the German environment minister, the green Jurgen
> Trittin says that nuclear industry should have no place in Germany as
> decided by the German people.Cogema wants the 5 billion dollar contract
> with its La Hague reprocessing plant on the normandy coast, for long
> polluting the earth, sea and sky with radioactive discharge. 
(currently
> the germans get some 30 percent of their energy requirements from
> nuclear) This is also putting the future in doubt o another major
> company here in France, Framatome, constructor, associated with Siements
> Group in the nuke plant project, EPR. Trittin said no more nuke deals
> will be authorized for nuke sites in Germany, and that nuke reprocessing
> is banned jan 1 2000.

The nuke lobby here in France is more like a tight little club of very
good friends. Thierry Desmarest, a younger and longtime member, is one
the older lobbyists intend with hold the helm for years to come. He is
on the board of directors at Cogema, and Cogema's head Jean Syrota is on
the board at TOTAL.
> 
> Obviously the nuke lobby at TOTAL and Cogema are furious, refusing to
> talk to the "dogmatic of dogmatics" Tritten. Obviously, the July meetng
> with Voynet did not serve well their cause six months later on this
> issue. It would appear that TOTAL is more concerned about the nuclear
> problem here with Bonn than democracy and the pipeline in Rangoon.
> 
> The French and french press are decrying a fait accompli by the Germans
> to end the nuclear option for energy, while the German people have been
> sensitive to this for long time. Well, the French nuke lobby, now
> thoroughly discredited and buffeted here in Paris, have done their
> utmost, even with recent publicity by french state energy monopoly EDF
> to promote nuclear on TV advertising.
> 
> Germans are saying, no nuke deals, no contract damages. The French want
> deals or damages. Cogema says the Germans and Trittn "are doing
> politics". Japan and Germany are the two major clients of Total's Cogema
> La HAGUE  plant.
> 
> Next week in the FREnch national assembly parliamente, the nuke future
> of FRance, with 80 percent of its electricity generated by nuclear
> plants, will be debated, but no vote as Germany continues to pressure
> FRance to abandon the nuclear option and find alternatives to
> energy production. The Germans say, that decision in Germany to abandon
> nuclear energy, at least for now, will be "defacto irreversible".
> 
> Again, with TOTAL NUCLEAIRE, created by Thierry Desmarest, french energy
> priorities are clearly at a variable geometry opposed to positive and
> healthy forces of change. But remember, Thierry Desmarest is a creature
> of Serge Tchuruk, now head of Alcatel, and he does not seem to be very
> imaginative about alternative strategies for TOTAL or FRance.
> 
> dawn star