Post date: Jul 14, 2013 3:2:47 PM
French President Francois Hollande says there will be no exploration for shale gas as long as he is president, adding there is light economic recovery despite Fitch's downgrade of France's credit rating.
PARIS, FRANCE (JULY 14, 2013) (TF1) - French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday (July 14) there would be no exploration for shale gas during his presidency, after a government minister proposed creating a company devoted to this alternative form of gas extraction.
"As long as I am president, there will be no exploration for shale gas in France," Hollande told TF1 and France 2 TV in a live interview after Bastille Day celebrations.France has outlawed exploration for shale gas over concerns about its impact on the environment.
Hollande also said inquiries were under way to determine the cause of a train derailment on Friday (July 12) that killed at six people and left several others injured.
The crash may have been caused by a loose steel plate at a junction, French train operator SNCF said.
"It's too early to say. I have called for three inquiries and no less than three. One by the transport minister, one by the SNCF and RFF (railway companies) and another by the Justice. But what I already know of what happened, is that it's an equipment failure. Was it caused by a maintenance problem or because of dilapidation, it will force us to draw some conclusions," Hollande said.
While France lost the last of its major AAA ratings on Friday in a blow Hollande's government as it battles to rein in public finances and kick-start the stalled economy, the French President said he wanted to battle pessimism, saying recovering was underway.
"The recovery is there. I won't embellish the data, it is there. There is an industrial production which is restarting and we are in a country in Europe where industrial production has taken off faster, since the last three months," Hollande said.
There is the assurance that the second semester will be better than the first. So I'm not going to wait, I will favour investment, investment that the Prime Minister announced with choices which will determine what tomorrow's France will be," he added.