EDF aid would be funded by French state asset sales, says Finance Minister Michel Sapin
The French finance minister has said any additional aid to cash-strapped utility giant EDF must be financed by selling state assets to avoid increasing public debt.
The French finance minister, Michel Sapin, said that the government was yet to decide on how it would help EDF.
"Should we need to recapitalise any public company, we would do it through the management of our assets, that means by selling stakes in other companies," Sapin told Radio Classique.
"We must not increase France's debt."
It comes amid mounting concern that EDF's already stretched balance sheet will struggle to shoulder the huge costs associated with the £18bn Hinkley Point C project in Somerset.
EDF's chief executive, Jean-Bernard Levy, has warned Hinkley won't go ahead without additional support from the French government.
Yesterday, the French economy minister Emmanuel Macron pledged fresh financing for the £18bn project during a visit to a nuclear power plant there.
Hinkley is the UK's first nuclear power plant in decades and the world's most expensive atomic energy project ever.
It's is due to start generating in 2025, and is expected to provide seven per cent of the UK's electricity once operational.