This is pretty much all false. The 500 billion figure gets parroted around a lot, but there is no basis for it. Also, coal use has basically almost halved since 10 years ago, and gas did not actually increase, it's still usually around 13-14%. In absolute numbers it went down because of less electricity use. The number are here, gas is in yellow: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/38...
The comparison is also not between France and Germany, but Germany now and Germany 20 years ago. The difference is massive, and the only counter argument can be that France did more with nuclear in the 70s and 80s, which is fine, but it's been the only country in the world that's done that, and France itself has not been able to replicate that. Germany on the other hand kickstarted a non-existing industry, that's been on an exponential growth worldwide in the last decade, and doesn't appear to be stopping. I think this comment in the thread was very insightful and should be read by everyone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35711724
The comparison is also not between France and Germany, but Germany now and Germany 20 years ago. The difference is massive, and the only counter argument can be that France did more with nuclear in the 70s and 80s, which is fine, but it's been the only country in the world that's done that, and France itself has not been able to replicate that. Germany on the other hand kickstarted a non-existing industry, that's been on an exponential growth worldwide in the last decade, and doesn't appear to be stopping. I think this comment in the thread was very insightful and should be read by everyone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35711724