The French national assembly in a first reading approved legislation Tuesday that would reorganise the domestic electricity market.
The vote was 294 tp 212, with the center-right majority UMP party supporting the measure in the face of opposition from leftist MPs.
The text, which reflects a European Union directive, calls for state-controlled Electricite de France to sell up to a quarter of its nuclear-powered electricity production to its rivals, notably Gaz de France Suez, Poweo and Direct Energie.
The legislation must also be approved in the French Senate or upper house.
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