For the French, whose last coal mine closed in 2004, the "comeback" of coal as a political issue may seem a bit surprising. Even if coal is still used in domestic industry and to produce electricity, it’s many years since it was used as the primary energy source for electricity production. This situation, specific to France and certain European countries, is not at all typical of the world situation: in the face of surging energy demand, coal – whose reserves have been estimated by the World Energy Council to cover 145 years of consumption at the current rate – seems to be an energy of the future and an alternative to oil, natural gas and nuclear power for the production of electricity.