Catherine MacGregor, CEO of French energy company Engie, addresses a breakfast briefing in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2023. EPA/J.P.GANDUL "Yes I was at the dinner. Yes I knew Marine Le Pen would be present... Engie has a responsibility to educate our political decision-makers on issues that are very complicated, and to explain the consequences of this or that measure, though so far with little success," MacGregor said at a press breakfast.
"We cannot let these ideas, which are bad for France, for France's energy security, for electricity prices and for decarbonization, crystallize and take form," she added.
For years, French blue-chip companies studiously avoided engaging with Le Pen's National Rally but, with polls indicating it could win the 2027 election, they are now trying to understand and influence its populist economic agenda.
MacGregor added that had she been heading a company not in the energy sector, she may not have been willing to attend the dinner with the far-right leader.
Reuters had previously reported on the dinner.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin and America Hernandez in Paris, editing by Inti Landauro)