VIDEO. Fear of a power outage this winter: “We have a full box of candles”

Tuesday, 10 am, in the Carrefour hypermarket in Chambourcy (Yvelines), the candle aisle attracts the most cautious: “I try to buy candles to light myself when the power goes out. We take one or two at least,” Alain explains. Today he will complete his collection with a red candle 25 cm high.

For Lawrence, who also reviews the department, it’s primarily an environmental approach: “We talk a lot about energy sobriety,” she admits. Often I turn off several lamps or just leave one on. Instead, I light a candle. “Proof of the hype with these additional lamps: in Carrefour stores in France, sales of unscented candles have increased 2.5 times since the start of the school year.

For Carrefour’s director of customer relations, Stephen Bompice, “a candle is the answer to not being in the dark this winter. This year is different from previous years because we are going through an energy crisis that affects everyone.”

Candles are not the only products that are popular with consumers. The turnover of anti-cold goods (autonomous heating, blankets, heating pads) especially jumped. Especially in the north of France, where the temperature is traditionally lower, as well as in the Ile-de-France and Rhone-Alpes.

This winter, there is a “high” risk of tension in the national power grid in January. This is how the French electricity transmission network operator RTE estimates in its latest report, published last Friday. Main reason ? Restarting shutdown EDF nuclear reactors is slower than expected.