[en] 2001 was marked by a lifeless global economic context: growth in output, and especially in world trade, slowed sharply. The euro zone was particularly affected. In a tense geopolitical context, especially in the Middle East, international prices of raw materials rose sharply in 2011, in particular oil prices. This affected France's energy bill which, at euro 61.4 billion, increased by almost one-third and accounted for 88% of the country's trade deficit. It thus represents 3.1% of GDP, compared with just 1% in the 1990's. The bill for oil alone is now more than euro 50 billion. The impact could have been even greater if 2011 had not been the warmest year on record since 1900, with an average annual temperature 1.3 deg. C above the reference (1981-2010). As a result, energy needs for heating were much lower than average. The physical trade deficit decreased by 4%, as imports of gas and coal decreased. In terms of consumption, 6.6 million tonnes oil equivalent (Mtoe) were saved. Corrected for climate variations, total primary energy consumption continued its rise in 2011 (+0.8%) after the dip registered in 2009, a consequence of the economic crisis. It thus exceeded 266 Mtoe, but still remains below pre-crisis levels. In spite of lower growth than in the previous year (+ 3.6% against + 4.5% in 2010), consumption of thermal energy from renewable sources and energy recovered from waste showed the strongest increase in 2011. However, at 17.1 Mtoe, this still represents only 6.4% of total primary energy consumption. After two years of reduction, oil showed an upturn (+ 2 %). Primary electricity, also on the rise, consolidated its share of total primary consumption (almost 44%). Conversely, coal dropped by 14 % and its share in primary consumption has been quartered since the 1970's, at less than 4%. The structure of France's primary energy mix has thus stabilised since the mid 2000's. According to European directive indicators, and contrary to the situation in 2010, France did not, in 2011, attain the objectives for the contribution of renewable energy (EnR) to final energy consumption set in the PNA EnR, the national renewable energy action plan, to reach a target of 23% in 2020, although the share from EnR did increase by 0.3% to reach 13.1%. Between 2005 and 2011, the increase in consumption of renewable energy was 4.6 Mtoe, against an expected 6 Mtoe, this difference resulting, essentially, from mild weather conditions. Biofuels are only just in line with the predicted curve. Production from wind, hydro plants and geothermal sources are increasingly lagging. Hydropower's contribution has been on a downward trend since the dry spells in recent years. The particularly clement weather in 2011 led to an under-use of fuelwood and heat pumps for space heating. Final energy consumption corrected for variations in climate, increased slightly in 2011, by + 0.4%. Exceeding 168 Mtoe, it remains below the level reached in the early 2000's, where it oscillated around 175 Mtoe. Its growth was also clearly weaker than during that same period, by around 1 point. Non-energy-use consumption increased sharply in 2011, by more than 4.4%, to 12, 6 Mtoe. This increase is explained by the recovery in manufacture of fertilisers, using gas, and even more so by greater activity in the petro-chemical industry. However, pre-crisis levels of more than 14 Mtoe, were not reached. Final energy consumption, corrected for climate variations, was stable for the second year running: +0.1 % in 2011, after -0.1%. In spite of a continuous increase in energy prices since 2009, consumption remains dynamic in some sectors. This is the case for transport, where consumption increased by 1.5%, returning to its 2008 level, and in the services and residential sectors. Conversely, energy consumption decreased by 1.1% in agriculture and even by 3.4% in the industry sector, in spite of higher output. In industry, use of fossil energies reduced in 2011, relatively, whereas EnR increased and electricity remained stable. National primary energy production increased very slightly in 2011, establishing a new record at 138.9 Mtoe. The increase (of 0.6%) was due almost entirely to electricity from nuclear plants, where output increased by 3.6 Mtoe. Excluding oil production - very low in France at less than 2 Mtoe - other forms of primary energy production decreased. This was the case for EnR, dragged down by the sharp decrease in renewable thermal energy and energy from waste (-9.3%) and from hydro-stations (-25%). The latter source suffered as a result of the dry weather France has experienced over two hydrological years, reaching a historically low level at less than 4 Mtoe. Soaring production from wind farms (+25%) and photovoltaic electricity, which has more than doubled, were not enough to offset this drop. Thermal energy suffered the repercussions of the significant decrease in fuelwood use due to the mild winter in 2011. Final energy intensity decreased by 1.6% in 2011, after -1.7% in 2010. Its average annual decrease since 2005 is now -1.3%. These results are good, even if they do not yet meet the targets set in the 13 July 2005 act of parliament outlining energy programming and policy: -2% per year by 2015, then -2.5% per year between 2015 and 2030. The economic crisis has interrupted the virtuous trend observed in 2006 and 2007 (-4.2% in two years). With the recovery in 2010, energy intensity once again showed a clear reduction. Per capita final energy consumption decreased by 0.5% in 2011. CO₂ emissions relating to energy combustion decreased by 6.7% in 2011 in real terms. The decrease was, however, only 1.1% after correction for climate variations, that is to say taking account of the mildness of average temperatures. The decrease was therefore a little less than in 2010 (-1.8%). The trend is, nonetheless, favourable: emissions decreased by 8.4% in relation to 2007, and by 6.3% in relation to 1990. (authors)