France and Germany prepare for winter energy crisis

France is less reliant than some neighbours on gas imports from Russia, which account for about 17% of its gas consumption.

French bosses are prepared to make efforts to meet a government demand to cut energy consumption by around 10% to avoid rationing amid soaring prices and fears of power shortages as the war in Ukraine grinds on, their chief said on Monday.

"We are looking at it, it is not impossible. It is a significant effort but absolutely necessary because we want to avoid rationing that stops production," Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux told France Inter radio.