Bernard Bigot, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy and alternative energy, draws lessons from the catastrophe of Fukushima.

The FIGARO. – Germany and its industry turning its back on nuclear power. Do you regret that choice?

Bernard BIGOT. – The German decision is final. The choice of Siemens, it makes sense: even a very large international company has no choice but to follow the policy direction of his home country. Yes, of course, we regret this shift: the nuclear returned to 20% in the German energy mix and it will therefore increase the use of fossil fuels to make up the loss. The need for electrical interconnections will also grow to increase import capacity, which will weigh even more on costs.

The cost of this decision has recently been estimated at 250 billion euros for Germany.What would happen if France were to make the same choice?

It is quite normal that the competent institutions are seeking to quantify the opportunity cost from the current nuclear power generation for everyone to measure the financial consequences of the choice that was made out of nuclear power in 2022. We must examine the assumptions, but the figure quoted seems a reasonable order of magnitude. As for France, whose nuclear is more than three times larger than the German fleet, I believe that at this stage, no figure can reasonably be argued, because alternative resources are not the same . The impact may be even heavier than the simple application of a rule of three.How much is an open question.

Is it possible however that the French nuclear production back?

Our country has decided to preserve its energy independence as much as possible, and nuclear power contributes significantly. In 2003, energy imports have cost 23 billion euros to France, or 10% of its export income, all economic sectors. In 2010, this figure rose to 48 billion, or 25% pay day loans. This year, we should surpass the 60 billion. Suffice to say that without nuclear energy costs explode in unprecedented proportions. This does not mean that we should give renewable energy: in the next five years, CEA proposes to double its budget and staffing in this area, respectively, to the tune of 300 million euros and 1,800 people.The government wants the CEA adopts renewables the same approach as for the nuclear namely stimulate research and encourage the emergence of powerful industrial sectors.

In addition to France and six months after the catastrophe of Fukushima, the world nuclear power is still flickering it?

Such an accident in a large industrial country known for its industrial skills was seen as a legitimate shock wave in the world. Today is the time for questions: what are the reasons for this catastrophe on the one hand, how to protect the other. Meanwhile, a barrel permanently installed above the $ 105, the differential change unfavorable to consumer countries and the strengthening of climatic requirements lead to the need to maintain nuclear.All countries are conducting security audits: complementary investments in facilities that should result in increase their robustness.

The first reports on the stress tests suggest they think that plants are safe?

Two points can be distinguished. First, the facility design: it shows a good resistance in most countries, which involve changes at the margin. However, the chain of exploitation, which covers both human organization that the reaction of the authorities, should be carefully checked to ensure that safety is ensured at all times. In Japan, it was deficient, and valuable time was lost: 100 m³ of water per hour, that is to say a quarter of a fire truck, would probably permit the early hours of to avoid radioactive releases into the air.

Despite the decree issued this summer, which gives greater freedom to set rates to SNCF to fix its price list, the maximum rate "will always be capped." Asked in the daily Le Parisien, Aujourd'hui en France, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet wants to be reassuring and reaffirming that "the objective of the decree is to give more flexibility to the operator so that better meet its trains by increasing the discounted prices "with attractive offers last minute, she says. Minister refutes the idea of ​​a systematic increase in ticket prices during peak hours "if the trains would empty," she says.

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet now provides 80% of travelers already enjoy discounted tickets and the "cheap tickets Prem's up more than a TGV ticket sold in ten."In response to the survey of consumer association CLCV which revealed that 87% of the French TGV are too expensive, the minister said that "high speed train in France is 10% cheaper than in Spain and 33% cheaper than in Germany business cards. " It recognizes that there is still room for improvement particularly on the transparency of the fee schedule. To remedy this, she wants to hold in 2012 the operator to display on its website, and for each link, the price the cheapest and most expensive, excluding promotions. The station will also pledge that half of the passengers pay a price at or below the reference price set by the state traditionally. "This will be controlled with Thierry Mariani, the Minister for Transport.We will monitor closely "assures Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.

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At the opening of the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones advance of 0.65% to 11,635 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 rise of 0.76%, respectively, to 1222 points and 0.81% to 2597 points. U.S. investors, it seems, was reassured, once last night, by the tone of "minutes" of the last monetary policy committee of the Fed. This report has indeed confirmed that the U.S. central bank did not rule to use new tools of monetary easing to support growth ever more threatened. A perspective that also prompted the European markets to rebound on Wednesday morning, when he had closed the previous day on a mixed note.Also in the interests of peace, the United States, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that the U.S. economy had a "heart attack" she was recovering at a slow pace as he prepares to unveil a new stimulus package.

Meanwhile, the volume still low despite the likely return of holidays for most investors, however, reflect a cautious market that continues. The current rebound, often excessive, thus remain fragile, the sudden relapse is, at every moment possible. And the meeting this Wednesday is evident, in this regard, not without risks.

The employment figures highly anticipated

The private sector in the United States slowed its hiring in August, creating 91,000 jobs over the month, less than expected by analysts, according to figures released Wednesday by consulting firm HR ADP.These new jobs, slightly lower than in July (109,000, revised), are lower than analysts' forecasts, which projected 100,000.

The Chicago PMI index of industrial activity for the month of August, from 3:45 p.m., will also be closely monitored. Orders to industry for the month of July (1600) and the weekly oil inventories (16:30) conclude the list of publications of macroeconomic days.

On the corporate side, the American phone AT & T (0.57% to 29.79 dollars) pledged Wednesday to repatriate to the United States currently filled 5,000 jobs in its call centers overseas, If green light to the acquisition challenged T-Mobile, the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.These employees will be "well paid", assured the group in a statement, recalling that he was the only major U.S. telecom operators to accept unions in its stores.

Bank of America (0.99% to 8.20 dollars) is about to further reduce its scope of activity in the mortgage, by stopping the sale of mortgage loans through independent agents, said Wednesday the Wall Street Journal , citing people familiar with the matter.

Hewlett-Packard (0.81% to 26.26 dollars) will temporarily restart production of its TouchPad Tablet, whose sales soared since the U.S. computer giant announced mid-August that he would cease to manufacture. HP announced on August 18 a sudden change in its strategy, through the cessation of production of its new tablet and its smartphones using the operating system of Palm webOS.HP also plans to separate its activities from production computers to refocus on software.

American billionaire Warren Buffett wants his share of sacrifice to help America reduce its budget deficit. In an article published in The New York Times, the head of Berkshire Hathaway investment fund called on parliamentarians to raise taxes on Americans with annual incomes exceed a million dollars, and even more taxing those who earn more than ten million dollars per year.

He said it does not hurt to use or for investment, while helping to clean up the country's finances. "Our leaders have called for shared sacrifice, he writes. But when they did ask, they spared me. I checked with my friends to see which mégariches sacrifices they expected.Them either were not affected. "Warren Buffett has led his small survey: last year's tax rate accounted for 17.4% of its taxable income, while that of 20 workers in his office was between 33% and 41%.

"While the poor and middle class fighting for us in Afghanistan, and while many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, we, the mégariches, continue to benefit from special tax exemptions," says the American billionaire.

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Friday night, two days after intervening in Parliament without presenting concrete and after two weeks of falling markets, Silvio Berlusconi announced a drastic revision of budget targets. He was accompanied by his Minister of Economy, Giulio Tremonti: both showed a facade of unity after publicly bickered on the eve of the ECB's role in the crisis, which had a bad effect.

The new roadmap is binding. Parliament will be asked to register immediately the "golden rule" which prohibits any deficit in the Constitution. The balance of public accounts will advance to 2013 instead of 2014, deadline too far in the eyes of the markets. This means emerge from 7-8000000000 new resources in the form of budget cuts and reductions in structural costs.In this context, the Minister of Administration, Renato Brunetta, estimates that the deficit target to 1.5% of GDP next year and 0.2% at end 2013 is achievable. The government is also considering a new Labour Code introduced more flexibility in wage bargaining, tax reform, growth-oriented and cuts in government spending. It remains to translate these intentions into decrees by the Cabinet, so that Parliament can approve the final quarter of 2011.

Historically high rates

The pressure has paid off. Brussels and the ECB have joined forces this weekend to make the government realize that the time for procrastination was over. Rates have exceeded 400 basis points with the German Bunds, a historically high level. Italy has urged the ECB to acquire Italian government securities on the secondary market.Frankfurt on Sunday night welcomed the efforts of the country. The German Government considers that it is first in Italy to prove the seriousness of his reforms.

A crucial week therefore expects the peninsula. The social partners will be informed of the contents of the measures of fiscal austerity plan Wednesday. On Thursday, the budget committees and Constitutional Affairs will shorten their vacation to hear Giulio Tremonti.

AntiSec movement, for "anti-security", would he struck again? The hackers who target sites of multinational corporations and state agencies are threatening this time the giant apple. In a tweet issued Sunday, the Anonymous group of hackers published a link to a document containing 26 IDs and passwords. According to the pirates, this is the contents of an Apple server to collect online surveys.

"It is not too strong, but still" hackers announce his tweet before providing a link to the document hacked. "# Apple could also be a target. But do not worry, we're busy elsewhere. # AntiSec "More than the document itself, which contains little information, so it's a threat contained in the forward message Anonymous.

The tweet group of hackers claiming AnonymousIRC attack. DR

Nearly three years after the financial crisis, the first sanctions against the banks fall. And the bill is particularly salty for Bank of America. The U.S. bank agrees to pay $ 8.5 billion to end the prosecution of several investors and has also spend an additional provision of $ 5.5 billion to clear the situation with the following semi-public mortgage refinancing as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This would involve the agreement of compensation the largest ever signed by a bank in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Admittedly, the stakes are also unpublished.The Wall Street as investors Journalrapporte particularly experienced such a number of asset management, BlackRock, the insurer MetLife or the Federal Reserve (Fed) of New York complain about the conditions of sale of so-called "subprime," these products complex financial risk that formed the heart of the Great Depression of 2008. Symbol of a finance gone mad, these "subprime" were associated with variable rate mortgages granted to families with poor credit. Their value plummeted after the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, which caused a series of foreclosures and debt of thousands of homes.

These individuals will not receive the compensation that Bank of America has agreed to pay. Indeed, they are used only for investors who are customers of Countrywide Financial, now a subsidiary of Bank of America in January 2008.The specialist mortgage lending in the United States had sold to investors of financial products like subprime for an initial value of $ 105 billion accompanied by guarantees on the composition of their portfolios. But soon after, with the bursting of the housing bubble in the U.S., these investments have proved extremely risky, losing most of their value. Investors who bought these financial products from Countrywide Financial believe to have been cheated, since the original contractual terms have not been met.

The case could set a precedent

Bank of America for months trying to resolve this embarrassing litigation, inherited directly from the acquisition of Countrywide Financial.But until now the CEO of Bank of America, serving for a year and a half, has refused to pay for past investments, arguing that investors had acted knowingly. By agreeing now to pay the full price, so it gives a signal again, and strong.

This case may give ideas to other investors who lost big in the collapse of the "subprime". Thus, other banks like Wells Fargo or JPMorgan could also be directly affected by requests for compensation.

The U.S. bank, which also pass for $ 6.4 billion of writedowns in its accounts the second quarter, estimates that its net loss for the three months ending in late June could be up to $ 9.1 billion, according to a statement of the institution.

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Union leaders had expected that the 1 May 2011 be a little raw. It is clear they have struggled to mobilize. In Paris, the procession was attended by 12,000 people Sunday, against 21,000 in 2010, told AFP the police headquarters. Organizers say 30,000 people joined them.

The secretary general of the CFDT Francois Chereque was present at the head of the cortege left shortly before 15 hours instead of the Republic, like that of Luke Berille UNSA and FSU Secretary General Bernadette Groison. The general secretary Bernard Thibault of the CGT, which was also manifest, was ultimately unable to move "because of major back problems," said his entourage told reporters.

Leaders of the Left also participated in the parade: Francois Hollande Olivier Besancenot through Eva Joly, Jean-Luc Melenchon or Marie-George Buffet.The spokesman of the Socialist Party, Benoît Hamon, the number two party, Harlem Desir, or members Bruno Le Roux, Sandrine Mazetier and President of the Ile-de-France, Jean-Paul Huchon were also behind the banner PS.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Martine Aubry, has, meanwhile, marched in Lille. "We do not have to be in the streets to celebrate International Labour Day," said the first secretary of the PS about the sparse parades, saying that employees would demonstrate "in 2012 at the ballot box."

Attendance was up for the parade FN

In the regions, the mobilization was also low.In Marseille, among 2000 people by 5000 according to police and organizers, marched through the streets between 1200 and 3500 people in Toulouse between 2200 and 3300 in Lyon, between 2200 and 3000 in Bordeaux between 1200 and 3000 in Strasbourg between 700 and 1000 in Lille and between 450 and 1000 in Rennes.

It was also shown to Pau (800 to 1200), in Angoulême (500), Besancon (500 to 1000), Brest (250 to 300), Nancy (700 people according to the unions) and as at Dunkirk, in Orléans and Caen.

These figures were more than expected from a trade union unity has disintegrated somewhat. "The character of this holiday is both less said, the day falls on a Sunday," observes Marcel Grignard, number two of the CFDT.In 2009 the protesters were much more likely because of the crisis, and in 2010 the fear of the pension reform, just before its unveiling, had been a factor in turnout.

On the other hand, the parade of Marine Le Pen Paris, focusing on the workers and popular classes, has mobilized more than expected among 3200 people according to police and 20,000 according to the FN (against 2000 and 8000 according to the police according to the FN last year).

"May 1st, we are the popes of the earth"

Besides purchasing power – the secretary general of the CFDT, Francois Chereque, called on Europe 1 radio on Sunday increased the minimum wage beyond the 2% rise tentatively scheduled on July 1 – the themes that defended Unions are talking years' support for the Arab peoples who rise to the dignity and freedom, "and" equal rights "between French and foreign workers in response to" national preference "advocated by the National Front , a rise in the opinion polls.

Winks comedy peppered some processions. "May 1st, we are the popes of the earth", alluding to the beatification of John Paul II. But also slogans in opposition to the FN, as in Rennes' French workers, immigrants, same bosses, same battles. "

The player has to use default in the articles of figaro.fr.maj1

The Paris markets do not take risks on Monday. The CAC 40 thus begins the day on a small drop of 0.19% to 4054.32 points.

In Paris as elsewhere, investors are trying to make a first point on the Japanese situation, one month to the day after the disaster that has ravaged the north-east. Reassuring news fell on the nuclear situation: According to government spokesman Yukio Edano, "the risk that the situation at the nuclear power is deteriorating and it leads to a new major radiation leak was significantly reduced. " In Asia this morning, markets have however not given clear signals.

Side indicator, the day promises to be especially quiet since no statistics are expected.Only INSEE announced before trading up 0.4% of French industrial production in February, after rising 0.7% in January.

The rest of the week will be loaded with particular current accounts in France and the German ZEW index Tuesday, the Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday, the weekly jobless claims in the U.S. on Thursday and the index of U.S. consumer sentiment Friday.

Markets await especially forward to the start of the dance publications of quarterly results in the United States. As usual, Alcoa will begin the festivities this evening.

As for currencies, the euro appears small decline in morning trading at 1.4459 dollar. Same thing for oil, hit by profit taking after sharp gains last week.A barrel of light sweet crude for May delivery yielded 36 cents to 112.43 dollars while that of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery lost 83 cents to 125.82 dollars.

Values ​​to follow

Renault

The board of directors of the group will try Monday to see more clearly in the wrong spying scandal at a special meeting and will try to establish the responsibilities of everyone in this fiasco online cash advance.

Saffron

The Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI) investigation on suspicion of spying for Turbomeca, a subsidiary of Safran including computer networks have been "looted" for several months.

NYSE Euronext

The board of directors of the transatlantic exchange operator yesterday rejected unanimously the offer of participation of $ 11.3 billion made by Nasdaq, coupled with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

EDF and EDF Energies Nouvelles

The listing of both Kingbird, who was suspended Friday after the announcement of a takeover offer from EDF on the 50% stake in its subsidiary EDF EN it does not already own, resumes today.

EDF also requested that the EPR reactor being built at Flamanville is considered "priority" as part of the audit of nuclear safety in France, said the Nuclear Safety Authority.

United States, the commission (NRC) has denied Unistar, owned by EDF, a license to build a new reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.

Carrefour

The walkouts on Saturday in favor of wage increases were a success according to the unions, who speak highly mobilized. The strike rate ranged from 30 to 85%.Negotiations will resume Wednesday.

Sanofi-Aventis

The group said Friday night that completed the acquisition of Genzyme after the reopening of its bid and said the U.S. biotech is now a subsidiary that holds all.

Total and GDF Suez

The French government has decided to ban the exploitation of shale gas and the repeal of licenses already granted.

Areva

The group bought for 1.62 billion euros from Siemens in the joint venture Areva NP, paving the way for a merger between Siemens and the Russian Rosatom, said on Sunday the German newspaper Die Welt.

The interest rate the European Central Bank, which determines the cost of money in the entire euro zone, banks in particular, was raised by 0.25 point to 1.25%. It is the first rise in the cost of money for 3 years. This decision was announced between the lines several weeks ago in previous speeches the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet.

ECB reacts to the acceleration of inflation, which reached 2.6% in March, surprising analysts on the rise. Developments due mainly to "increased energy prices," said Jean-Claude Trichet at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

In this context, he reiterated his warning against "second-round effects", that is to say that higher wages would fuel higher prices."We are particularly attentive to this issue," he warned. The social partners should not take for reference the current inflation, but the target of 2% set by the ECB during the negotiations on wages, pleaded Jean-Claude Trichet.

The first in a long series?

The press conference of the ECB was scrutinized by analysts awaiting signs of future rate increases. Most of them estimated that up this Thursday is the first in a series that will take place during 2011. "The ECB has decided that this increase was the first in a series," Jean-Claude Trichet timed.

At the same time, it did not indicate in his opening statement that rates were at an appropriate level, implying that future adjustments.At Societe Generale, analysts expect an increase of 25 basis points (0.25%) every quarter to an interest rate of 2% in late 2011.

Route risky "

That prospect worries some observers, however. The ECB is "a risky road to recovery," said James Nixon, an economist at Societe Generale CIB. While growth in the euro zone is distributed. But it remains very uneven across countries. Germany experienced a strong recovery while the peripheral countries, subjected to rigorous programs are still in recession.

"Rising interest rates will add considerably to the cost of debt of the peripheral countries, fears James Nixon.And it remains to prove that increasing rates in a context of soaring oil prices, already able to cut consumption, does not cause back in recession and no recovery of the banking crisis in Europe. "

With a rate of 1.25%, "the EC's monetary policy remains very accommodative, has defended Jean-Claude Trichet. Our decision is to anchor inflation expectations of economic actors to a level commensurate with the objective of the ECB's 2%. "