Key takeout
- The French far-right National Rally Party has proposed using surplus nuclear electricity for bitcoin mining, indicating major policy changes.
- The initiative suggests increased political support for code despite prior opposition from party leaders.
The National Rally (RN), the leading far-right party in France, has long been known for its skepticism over Crypto, but lawmakers have shown a new stance in support of the coalition of the Republic's Union of Rights (UDR) (UDR) proposal, according to a recent report, to use surplus nuclear energy for bitcoin mining.
The proposal, submitted by 77 members of both parties on July 11, is attracting attention for a change in tone from the block, which once called for a complete ban on digital assets, rather than focusing on the possibility of success.
From the fear of money laundering to the opportunities for energy
The far-right order to Crypto began earlier this year amid a congressional debate on drug trafficking. RN Aurélien Lopez-Liguori, who leads the Digital Sovereign Research Group, focused on regulations regarding crypto mixers related to money laundering.
As he investigated further, he began to see the possibility of reusing excess electricity, especially from nuclear power plants, for bitcoin mining.
The proposal aims to utilize excess energy for profit. Mining operations could generate between $100 billion and $150 million per gigawatt capacity per year, according to the well-known French crypto industry group Digital Asset Development Association.
Marine Le Pen, the RN leader who called for a ban on cryptography in 2016, publicly came up with the idea during a March visit to the Flemmanville Nuclear Power Plant.
In June, Lopez Riguoli pushed a related fix, but his first shot was closed. He returned last month with a full bill.
Lawmakers are proposing a five-year pilot project aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the State Utility EDF. The goal is to follow Norwegian models, not creating a national Bitcoin reserve, even if Norway recently retreated from crypto mining.
RN remains split, Zemmour's party accepts bitcoin
Still, not everyone on the RN is on board. Some seniors are wary of accepting asset classes they see as unstable and ideologically incompatible with the vision of a state-controlled financial sovereignty party.
One anonymous party official dismissed the code as “hot” and warned of political risk. Others are frustrated with premature messages and what is considered an internal division of performing in public places.
In contrast, another known far-right party led by Eric Zenmore leaned completely into the Bitcoin story. His close advisor, Sarah Nabo, gave a speech to the European Parliament last December, where she praised the promise of decentralized financials and condemned the European Central Bank's authoritarian overreach.
The speech was praised by President Naive Bukere, El Salvador, and was invited to “Cryptoball” in Washington in January this year, and was held just before Trump's inauguration.
