French, German Leaders Warn Populations “Prepare For Total Cut-Off Of Russian Gas” As Social Unrest Looms

Via ZeroHedge

European populations are bracing for a frigid upcoming winter amid an impending avalanche of high energy costs and emerging inflation. On Sunday French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that Russia is poised to totally halt gas supplies to Europe and that people must now “prepare”.

“Let’s prepare for a total cut-off of Russian gas; Today that is the most likely option,” Le Maire told an audience at an economic conference in Aix-en-Provence.

He later additionally explained to reporters, “You also have to prepare load-shedding plans, we are doing it. It means looking in a very specific way at each company, each employment area; Which are the companies that should reduce their energy consumption and which are the ones that cannot.”

French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, file image

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German Chemical Giant Warns Of “Total Collapse” If Russian Gas Supply Cut

Via ZeroHedge

CEO of Germany’s multinational BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical producer, has warned that curbing or cutting off energy imports from Russia would bring into doubt the continued existence of small and medium-sized energy companies, and further would likely spiral Germany into its most “catastrophic” economic crisis going back to the end of World War 2.

Company CEO Martin Brudermuller issued the words in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper just ahead of German officials by midweek giving an “early warning” to industries and the population of possible natural gas shortages, as Russia appears ready to firmly hold to Putin’s recent declaration that “unfriendly countries” must settle energy payments in rubles, related to the Ukraine crisis and resultant Western sanctions.

According to Bloomberg he mused that while “Germany could be independent from Russia gas in four to five years” it remains that “LNG imports cannot be increased quickly enough to replace all Russian gas flows in the short term.”

CEO of BASF Martin Brudermüller, file image

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