France says it is prepared for Gazprom’s ‘pretext’ to switch off gas

Gazprom is using a mere excuse to switch off natural gas deliveries to its French contractor, the energy minister in Paris said, but added that the country had anticipated the loss of supply.
“As we anticipated, Russia is using gas as a weapon of war and is using Engie’s way of applying the contracts as a pretext to further reduce French supplies,” Agnes Pannier-Runacher said in a statement.

The comments came hours after Russia’s Gazprom announced that from Thursday it would fully suspend gas deliveries to Engie, a French utility, citing a dispute over payments. The move will deepen concerns about Europe’s winter energy supply.