And the liberal take has been: This is fine as long as they're paying their bills.
Blackouts are a solution to consumption surges. We are not seeing surges right now so there is no reason to restrict anyone. We can’t store electricity after all. In case of a surge, the commercial sector is the first being hit, long before houses. Plus the issue is mostly heating, lights consume next to nothing.
France electricity is mostly clean by the way.
> Restaurants and bars can just heat the outside terrace air. etc...
That’s been illegal for more than a year.
That's equally of not more true of renewables like solar and batteries that require large amounts of rare metals.
(Good luck finding one that supports your position).
FWIW: yes, mining is bad. But uranium is unbelievably energy-dense and the amounts are ridiculously small compared to any other source of energy. All things considered, nuclear causes fewer emissions per MWh than most solar panels (which are not radioactive but still need heaps of metals and semiconductors). Also, there is no contest with coal, oil, and gas, which is the thing that is actually used when you don’t have nuclear energy available.
Here you go. But really, if you had done a simple search of something like "france uranium africa" you would likely have found this yourself. If you only ever search for things supporting your position, but not the opposite position, you are prone to being in a bubble, never seeing contradicting information.
That's not what they announced, the day before an area code will be revealed, and all electricity will be cut (including schools, public utility and telephone towers)
> That’s been illegal for more than a year
There is an exception if terrace area is "covered". Guess what everyone installed in the past year?
If they do large scale blackouts it’s that they can’t manage the load without cutting normal customers so obviously it’s going to hit everyone.
Stores, including malls, are mandated to shut down lights and screens after hours. Christmas lights and the Eiffel tower shut down at 22:00. Restaurants and bars have been forbidden from heating up terraces for more than a year.
It is really ridiculously selfish how people act here. As if one couldn't see, that they did not properly fit their mask to the back of their noses in so many cases, if they wear a mask at all. Or those people, who continuously lift their mask when breathing out ... How much must one not understand?
In absolute terms I wouldn't say that Germany is very compliant. Maybe 50% compliant in public transport, if I count the people who really wear FFP2 masks properly, as is the rule. There are even signs there and frequent announcements, that you must wear an FFP2 mask in public transport.
Compared with other countries I see, that people in Japan and South Korea have more insight and behave less selfish, more caring about the person next to them than they do in Germany. But that is merely a media impression I got from some news reports and interviews of people on the streets, which might have been highly selective. So comparatively Germany might be above average of compliance with the law, but I don't think Germany is on a very high level in that regard.
But unfortunately, this is not really enforceable because non-compliance is not illegal afaik.
I bet that a lot of it it's subsidized in good old French tradition.