France is this week set to pass by decree a new energy law slashing the country’s renewable energy targets and massively expanding nuclear power production. The law change comes as a relief for state-run electricity provider EDF, which had been mandated to close some of its nuclear plants and is struggling to compete with price pressure from European solar and wind power producers.

France set out a new energy law after years of wrangling on Thursday which slashes its wind and solar power targets and drops a mandate for state-run firm EDF to shutter nuclear plants.

“We need to stop ​our internal family ‌squabbling. We need both nuclear and renewables,” Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters.

The law, to be ⁠pushed through by decree on Friday after almost three years of bitter disagreement among lawmakers, also reverses a previous legal mandate to shut 14 reactors.

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