Ever heard of the CNR or Compagnie Nationale du Rhône in France?
The CNR is an entrepreneurial venture of general interest that began to mature in people’s minds in the 19th century, with the desire to develop the Rhône river for navigation,irrigation andelectricity production.
History of the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône
Two visionary men, Edouard Herriot and Léon Perrier, were behind the creation of the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) on 27 May 1933 .
When the company was founded, its capital was divided into 4 equal parts, between the city of Paris, the local authorities around the Rhône river, the PLM (Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean) railway company and industrialists from the energy sector.
The development of the valley began with the construction of 2 major structures, the river port of Lyon, named after Edouard Herriot, and the Génissiat dam, named after Léon Perrier.
The Compagnie Nationale du Rhône has a 27,000 hectare concession along the Rhône river, granted by the French government until 2032.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, CNR has been a public limited company with a Management Board and a Supervisory Board, whose capital is shared between the GDF Suez Group, the Caisse des dépôts et consignations and the local authorities along the Rhône.
A business focused on energy production
In addition to developing the river for navigation and agricultural irrigation, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône is primarily a power generation company, generating 3% of France’s total electricity, mainly via the dams in the Rhône valley.
CNR has been operating 19 hydroelectric power stations built along the Rhône River, as well as wind and solar farms in other regions of France, since the 21st century.
The company producesrenewable and low-carbonelectricity well beyond its geographical area of origin between France and Switzerland, in particular for the Rhône Valley electricity corridor.
It has been independent of the EDF group since 2002 and is its main competitor in the French electricity market.
It produces an average of 14.9 billion kWh a year, a quarter of the country’s hydroelectricity, or 3% of French production.
Travel link
- CNR electricity corridor in the Rhône valley
- Official website of the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône and CNR web ecosystem
- CNR, Wikipedia
- 80 years of history in 10 dates, CNR press pack
- Edouar Herriot and Léon Perrier
- Destination: the Rhône Valley!
- Where to stay in the Rhône Valley?
- IGN maps, Rhône valley
- Map of river tourism on the Rhône
- Regions, cantons, départements and communes along the Rhône
- Map of the Rhône River and its tributaries
- Au fil du Rhône, RTS video report