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Can France’s nuclear legacy weather climate change?

 The delicate-looking water primrose, an invasive aquatic plant with golden, daisy-like flowers,brought unit 4 at the 3.6 GW Cruas nuclear power plant in southern France to a grinding halt.

In recent years, extreme heat, droughts and warmer
rivers have repeatedly disrupted operations, forcing EDF to reduce output
or shut down reactors at sites along the Garonne and the Rhone. During the
record 2022 heatwave, the government even issued exceptional exemptions so several plants could temporarily exceed environmental discharge limits to avoid potential blackouts.

What’s driving the concern?

River temperatures regularly reaching regulatory thresholds; More frequent
droughts limiting cooling water; Increased ecological pressure on already
stressed river basins; Data showing production cuts clustering in summer
when demand is highest.

France’s Court of Auditors and climate agencies
warn that such shutdowns could become three to four times more common by 2050. EDF says annual impacts remain small overall, but seasonal risks are rising. With an ageing fleet and new reactors planned, the question is how resilient France’s nuclear system can remain in a rapidly warming climate

 Montel News 30th Oct 2025, https://montelnews.com/news/2e2e5374-e4ef-433a-ac00-1f2d049478c0/can-france-s-nuclear-legacy-weather-climate-change-2

November 9, 2025 Posted by | climate change, France | Leave a comment

“It is unacceptable that the EDF tariff reform is being adopted quietly, to the detriment of the users”

With electricity bills reaching record highs and 7 million people facing
energy poverty, it’s time to acknowledge the failure of a model. Twenty
years of brutal energy sector liberalization have failed to bring about
either lower prices or the investment promised by private operators in
exchange for regulated access to historical nuclear electricity (ARENH).

Created in 2011 to allow alternative suppliers to purchase EDF’s nuclear
production at a fixed and highly advantageous price, this mechanism was
supposed to generate sustainably competitive offers. On the contrary, it
has led to instability, private rent-seeking, industrial fragmentation, and
debt for EDF.

Le Monde 29th Oct 2025,
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2025/10/29/il-est-inacceptable-que-la-reforme-des-tarifs-d-edf-soit-adoptee-discretement-au-detriment-des-usagers_6650111_3232.html

November 5, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Furious French fairies challenge nuclear plans.

    by beyondnuclearinternational

Frogtifa is just catching on in Portland, but French protesters have used street theatre for years. This summer’s anti-nuclear actions were no exception, reports Reseau sortir du nucléaire

Editor’s note: In her forthcoming book — No To Nuclear. Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War — to be published by Pluto Press next March, Linda Pentz Gunter describes the creative resistance of French protesters, including the anti-nuclear movement. “The French anti-nuclear movement,” she writes, “has engaged in protests that deliver considerable numbers, abundant creativity — and sometimes a lot of useful tractors as well. France also has a long theatrical tradition, and French anti-nuclear activists have invariably embraced that as well. They understand that street theater is an attention-getter. They also know it makes protesting a lot more fun.” The chapter features the “goat ZAD” mobilized by the Piscine Nucléaire Stop collective. Since then, they have “escalated,” as sortir du nucléaire describes in this article.

From July 18 to 20, 2025, in La Hague, “HARO” made its grand debut: three days of meetings and mobilization around nuclear waste and local communities. Nearly a thousand people from the Cotentin region and elsewhere responded to the call of the Piscine Nucléaire Stop collective to participate in round tables, workshops, concerts, screenings, hikes, and, of course, the big demonstration by the Fées furieuses (Furious Fairies). The event took place in a festive atmosphere of determination.

The name of the event set the tone: derived from Norman customary law, the interjection “Haro” was used to demand justice, even in the face of powerful oppressors. In the Cotentin Peninsula, it is Orano [owner of the La Hague reprocessing facility] that is attempting to impose its Aval du Futur mega-project.

The event, located on the La Hague plateau in a field lent by local farmers committed to the anti-nuclear cause, offered a breathtaking view of the Orano plant, when the fog didn’t interfere with the festivities. The typical La Hague weather did not discourage participants who had come from all over France to take part in meetings against waste, nuclear power, and the nuclear chain, with an intersectional approach………………………………………………………………………………..

The packed program then continued throughout the weekend: between round tables on feminist anti-nuclear struggles, discussions on ways of living in contaminated areas, workshops on the legacy of decolonial struggles, the manufacture of radio transceivers, etc., there was something for everyone.

As for the cooperative village [established for the events], it was as varied as the program itself: local and national associations committed to the anti-nuclear cause or installation projects such as Atomic Marney, social struggle associations such as France Palestine Solidarité (Cherbourg branch), citizen laboratories, bookstores, and collectives from other environmental struggles, such as local committees of Soulèvements de la Terre.

The most courageous, who wanted to venture outside the meeting site, sometimes in pouring rain, were able to take part in the Randos Radieuses (Radiant Walks)…………………………………………………………..

Within this cultural program, the fight against Cigéo [the French nuclear waste entity] was highlighted with the screening of a film recounting ten years of struggle: Vivre et lutter à Bure entre 2015 et 2025 (Living and Fighting in Bure between 2015 and 2025), the documentary Les Bombes atomiques (The Atomic Bombs), which recounts a feminist highlight of the struggle in Bure, and the film Après les Nuages (After the Clouds) by the collective Les Scotcheuses

The highlight of the weekend was a demonstration on Saturday afternoon against Aval du Futur and, more broadly, the ever-increasing nuclearization of the region. In keeping with its offbeat and militant approach, the Piscine Nucléaire Stop collective decided to draw on the local legend of the little fairies and their method of collective self-defense armed with heather and gorse to confront an offense: the paving over of the last remaining primary moors on the La Hague plateau and the accumulation of nuclear waste by Orano.

A thousand people gathered to march against Orano’s project. The procession left the camp in sunny weather and headed for the village of Vauville, accompanied by a police presence and a helicopter dispatched for the weekend.

In a family atmosphere, the demonstrators and little fairies danced to the sounds of the Planète Boum Boum collective, chanted slogans concocted for the occasion, and sang to the tune of a summer camp song: “In my beautiful Cotentin, there will be no MOX, no swimming pools either, and no concrete either.”

The links between the struggles in Bure and La Hague were strengthened during this event, culminating in a concert by the Bure-based band Les Free’meuses, during which the audience was moved by their latest cover of Les Demoiselles de Rochefort: “We are twin struggles… “

In various ways throughout the weekend, activists from the east and west reiterated that “we don’t want radioactive waste dumps in La Hague, Bure, or anywhere else!”

The weekend ended with an evening concert and a final HARO as a cry of convergence of struggles to support social and environmental struggles as well as the struggle of the Palestinian people.

This article was first published in French by the Reseau sortir du nucléaire, a national network of French anti-nuclear organizations.



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October 29, 2025 Posted by | France, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Livret A: Will part of French savings soon be used to finance nuclear power?

Traditionally, the money in the Livret A savings account is intended to support social housing and local public infrastructure.

This announcement comes as the government seeks to diversify funding sources for a nuclear program estimated at colossal sums


 Le Monde De L’Energie 13th Oct 2025

This is a historic turning point for French public savings. The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) has confirmed that a portion of the funds from the Livret A savings account could be used to finance the construction of new EPR nuclear reactors. This unprecedented move symbolizes the rapprochement between public finance, industrial strategy, and national energy sovereignty.

An unprecedented agreement between the State, EDF and the Caisse des Dépôts

Traditionally, the money in the Livret A savings account is intended to support social housing and local public infrastructure.  But on Thursday, October 10, CDC CEO Olivier Sichel announced a major development: “We have reached an agreement with Bercy and EDF on using the Savings Fund.” This statement, made to the Association of Economic and Financial Journalists, marks the first official confirmation of the Livret A’s involvement in financing the French nuclear program.

This shift, both energy-related and financial, is part of the government’s desire to revive civil nuclear power. The state plans to build six new EPR reactors by 2038, at a total cost estimated at less than €100 billion, according to estimates by former Energy Minister Marc Ferracci.

A crucial step: the Brussels agreement

Before the transaction can become a reality, one key step remains: European approval. “The French government will present its proposal to Brussels to obtain approval for the overall financial model,” Olivier Sichel explained. The stakes are as much legal as they are political: the European Commission will have to verify that this financing scheme does not violate competition or state aid rules.

The Brussels agreement will make it possible to secure access to part of the Savings Fund, funded by French savings, while guaranteeing that investments remain safe and profitable for depositors.

A treasure of 400 billion euros at the nation’s disposal

The Caisse des Dépôts currently manages approximately €400 billion in regulated savings, collected in particular through the Livret A (Livret A), the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) (Sustainable and Solidarity Savings Account), and the Livret d’épargne populaire (LEP) (People’s Savings Account). Just over half of these funds are already allocated to long-term loans to finance social housing or regional policies.

The remainder, invested in financial assets, could now contribute to financing the country’s energy infrastructure, including new nuclear reactors. “Nuclear power is obviously part of our energy sovereignty,” explained Olivier Sichel, adding that this direction aims to strengthen France’s capacity to produce stable, carbon-free electricity.

This announcement comes as the government seeks to diversify funding sources for a nuclear program estimated at colossal sums, in a context of constrained budgets and strong tension on the energy markets…………………………………..

 this development is already raising questions. Some social housing stakeholders fear that this shift will reduce the funds available for their projects. ………….

Asked about financial risks, Olivier Sichel also warned of the tensions threatening global markets, particularly in the technology sector. “The colossal investments in artificial intelligence are drawing parallels with the internet bubble of the late 1990s,” he warned, urging caution.

A major turning point for public investment policy

By linking popular savings to the country’s energy strategy, the government and the Caisse des Dépôts are redefining the role of the Livret A savings account in the French economy. This investment, held by more than 55 million French people, is becoming not only a social financing tool, but also a pillar of industrial and energy recovery.

If Brussels gives the green light, France will usher in a new era: one in which every euro placed in a Livret A savings account could, indirectly, contribute to fueling the nation’s future nuclear reactors. …… https://www.lemondedelenergie.com/livret-une-partie-de-lepargne-des-francais-bientot-mobilisee-pour-financer-le-nucleaire/2025/10/13/

October 21, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Gravelines: the  Safety Expertise Department of ASNR’ damning opinion calls into question the EPR2

October 16, 2025, https://www.greenpeace.fr/espace-presse/gravelines-lavis-accablant-de-lasnr-remet-en-cause-les-epr2/

The Safety Expertise Department of ASNR, the nuclear safety and radiation protection authority, has just published a damning expert opinion on EDF’s project for the Gravelines power plant.

In addition to the already identified risks of submersion and flooding of the power plant, there is now the risk of soil settlement and liquefaction. The soil, which is designed to support the weight of the new EPR2 reactors, has “poor mechanical characteristics,” posing an unprecedented technical challenge regarding the robustness of the foundations over time and in the face of seismic hazards that could compromise nuclear safety.

“ This relentless opinion from the ASNR is further proof that the criteria for choosing sites for the construction of new EPR2 reactors are largely questionable. After underestimating the climate risks, EDF is underestimating the risk of building such a dangerous infrastructure on such unsuitable ground ,” emphasizes Pauline Boyer, nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace France. “This demonstrates once again the haste of EDF, which is rushing headlong into its plans to build new reactors in Gravelines. ”

A relentless opinion 

In this opinion dated July 23, the ASNR severely rejects EDF’s copy of its first study of ground reinforcement on the Gravelines site, considering that the approach adopted by EDF is not sufficiently robust , ordering it to clarify the safety issues relating to ground reinforcement, to conduct new studies and to set up a monitoring system over time.

The opinion considers that the planned reinforcement of the ground at the Gravelines site constitutes “ a major technical challenge ” and that the system proposed by EDF is  “of unprecedented scale, of great complexity and without representative feedback in France and internationally”.

A hard blow for EDF 

The Gravelines nuclear power plant, built on a polder, is supposed to accommodate two new reactors (EPR2) as part of the nuclear recovery plan.

A year ago, Greenpeace published a report which, through mapping work projecting the rise in water levels in the Gravelines area until the end of the reactors’ lifespan, demonstrated that in 2100 and 2120, the entire Gravelines power plant site could be temporarily below sea level.

“The project to build new EPR2 reactors in Gravelines, EDF’s “seaside sandcastle,” is already sinking into quicksand. It’s time for EDF to make the most sensible decision: stop trying to build reactors at all costs, especially on such a vulnerable and unsuitable site, and invest this money in its renewable energy sector,” adds Pauline Boyer.

The difficulties and uncertainties of this nuclear construction project overlap, at the heart of an area accumulating risks (submersion, flooding, unsuitability of the soil, extreme climatic events, etc.). The 11-meter platform on which the EPR2 would be perched in an attempt to protect them from the risks of submersion and flooding (which Greenpeace always questions) makes the task even more difficult.

After the  setbacks with the concrete intended for the construction of the future EPR2 in Penly, this is yet another example of EDF’s amateurism in wanting to build EPR2s in unsuitable areas without first carrying out a robust risk analysis.

October 18, 2025 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Flamanville EPR: EDF anticipates limited power until 2031.

Flamanville EPR: EDF anticipates limited power until 2031. EDF has
informed the energy regulator that it has selected a final electrical power
output lower than that officially communicated. The reason: the hypothesis
of a deteriorated performance of the Normandy reactor, leading to a
restriction of its electricity production.

These are just five short lines
in a document of over 200 pages. But they are very important. In its report
on the cost of nuclear power, published Tuesday, September 30, the Energy
Regulatory Commission (CRE) addresses the issue of the electrical power of
the Flamanville 3 EPR, the restart of which was recently postponed until
mid-October, after numerous delays since its shutdown last June following a
leak in a primary circuit protection valve.

The energy regulator explains
that the production of Flamanville 3 is difficult to predict due to the
level of uncertainty over the timetable for the continuation of reactor
tests. Above all, it specifies that in terms of “the final nominal
electrical power of the EPR, EDF declared to the CRE a power 35 megawatts
(MW) lower than the power declared in the public data framework . “

 La Tribune 7th Oct 2025, https://www.latribune.fr/article/entreprises-finance/energie-environnement/10816924410568/epr-de-flamanville-edf-anticipe-une-puissance-bridee-jusquen-2031

October 10, 2025 Posted by | ENERGY, France | Leave a comment

EDF Weighs Edison IPO To Boost Nuclear Expansion Funding

Since being fully renationalized in 2023, EDF has been under pressure from President Emmanuel Macron’s government to finance up to six new EPR2 reactors and extend the life of the existing fleet. That program could require more than €60 billion through the 2030s, prompting asset reviews that include potential divestments in renewables and non-core foreign units, the Financial Times reported. 

By Charles Kennedy – Oct 08, 2025,  https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EDF-Weighs-Edison-IPO-To-Boost-Nuclear-Expansio

French state utility EDF is in talks with banks about a potential initial public offering of its Italian subsidiary Edison, according to sources cited by Reuters, in a move that could unlock billions in capital as EDF ramps up financing for its nuclear revival at home.

EDF has begun sounding out major European lenders including BNP Paribas and Société Générale to assess investor appetite for a Milan listing that would value Edison between €7 billion and €10 billion ($8-11 billion). The group would likely retain a controlling stake while selling a minority portion to the public or strategic investors, according to the Reuters report. Sources told the news agency that the discussions remain preliminary, with a formal mandate expected by the end of October.

Edison, which was fully acquired by EDF in 2012, remains one of Italy’s largest integrated energy companies, operating power generation, retail, and gas units with annual revenue of about €15 billion and EBITDA near €1.7 billion. Its CEO, Nicola Monti, said in September that the company was prepared for a market return if EDF gave it the green light, according to Reuters. 

The IPO would fit EDF’s broader capital rotation strategy. 

Since being fully renationalized in 2023, EDF has been under pressure from President Emmanuel Macron’s government to finance up to six new EPR2 reactors and extend the life of the existing fleet. That program could require more than €60 billion through the 2030s, prompting asset reviews that include potential divestments in renewables and non-core foreign units, the Financial Times reported. 

Bloomberg reported in early September that an Edison relisting could gauge investor appetite for European power assets, as utilities face volatile wholesale electricity prices across the continent. 

Edison’s partial flotation would be similar to moves by other European energy peers such as Eni and Iberdrola, which spun off renewables and downstream assets to attract capital while retaining strategic control. A Milan listing would also test investor confidence in Europe’s liberalized power markets at a time of rising grid costs and renewed nuclear investment.

Bloomberg reported in early September that an Edison relisting could gauge investor appetite for European power assets, as utilities face volatile wholesale electricity prices across the continent. 

Edison’s partial flotation would be similar to moves by other European energy peers such as Eni and Iberdrola, which spun off renewables and downstream assets to attract capital while retaining strategic control. A Milan listing would also test investor confidence in Europe’s liberalized power markets at a time of rising grid costs and renewed nuclear investment.

October 10, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Flamanville fiasco: EDF blamed by the Nuclear Safety Authority

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has severely
criticised the crisis management at the EPR in Flamanville (Manche), which
has been shut down since 19 June due to a valve problem.

On 20 August, the inspectors subjected EDF teams to an unannounced exercise of “deployment of a local crisis means” (MLC), i.e. the replacement of one element of the
electrical panel with another to resupply batteries in the event of a total
loss of power supplies. As a result, the operator was unable to carry out
this operation, which was essential to avoid an accident.

In its follow-up
letter, the ASNR points to a “range of interventions that are not precise
enough”, agents “forced to question themselves on numerous occasions” and a
training follow-up deemed “perfectible”. Even more serious, some crisis
equipment requested by the inspectors could not be presented. “The
organisation of the Flamanville EPR in terms of crisis management and means
appears insufficient”, concludes the nuclear watchdog, an extremely rare
assessment in its usually measured vocabulary.

” I don’t remember such an
observation,” Guy Vastel, of the Association for the Control of
Radioactivity in the West (Acro), told Ouest-France. Yannick Rousselet,
from Greenpeace, believes that “nothing is right” in this report. EDF, for
its part, announced an “action plan” and assured that the findings “do not
call into question the availability of crisis resources or the site’s
ability to manage an emergency”.

Reporterre 10th Sept 2025,
https://reporterre.net/Fiasco-de-Flamanville-EDF-blamee-par-l-Autorite-de-surete-nucleaire


 

September 29, 2025 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

While EDF must invest 460 billion euros over 15 years, its economic model is taking on water.

P.La. with AFP, BFMTV 23rd Sept 2025 https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/energie/alors-qu-edf-doit-investir-460-milliards-d-euros-en-15-ans-son-modele-economique-prend-l-eau_AD-202509240079.html

The Court of Auditors has issued a warning about the economic situation of the French energy company, now 100% state-owned. A wall of investment is looming to maintain and renew the group’s nuclear fleet.

The French Court of Auditors is concerned about the financial prospects of the public energy company EDF, calling for “a clear distribution of the financial effort” between the State, EDF and customers, in a report addressed to the Finance Committee of the National Assembly and consulted on Tuesday, September 24.

In this report, first revealed by the media 
Contexte , the institution responsible for monitoring the proper use of public funds observes that EDF is “faced with significant uncertainties over its long-term financing capacity”, while it faces investment needs reaching 460 billion euros between 2025 and 2040.

In this context, “EDF’s financing model should, in order to preserve a sustainable financial trajectory for the group, be defined based on a clear distribution of the financial effort between the State, now the sole shareholder, EDF and the end customers,” the magistrates believe.

In detail, EDF plans to allocate 90 billion euros to the maintenance and extension of the existing nuclear fleet, 115 billion euros for the construction of 14 EPR 2 (including 75 for the first six), 15 billion euros for the hydraulic fleet and more than 100 billion euros for the Enedis network, manager of the electricity distribution network.

No more hazards

At the same time, EDF’s profitability will be more exposed “to the vagaries of changes in electricity market prices”, with the end of the regulated system known as Arenh , planned for the end of 2025. EDF intends to replace this system with medium and long-term contracts with electricity suppliers and companies, including high-energy industrial ones.

The Court of Auditors also notes that EDF’s ability to invest will be conditioned “by the operational performance of the nuclear fleet and the success of extending its lifespan.”

The body then recommends “setting, prior to the final investment decision on the EPR2 program, the terms of risk sharing between the State and EDF.” EDF’s final estimate for its EPR2 program should be known at the end of the year.

The Court of Auditors also calls for clarification of the dividend policy that will be applied to EDF and recommends that the group “conduct a strategic review of investments, holdings and subsidiaries.”

Total or partial sales of holdings and subsidiaries would constitute “a financing lever for the group’s investment program,” particularly “in the most unfavorable price scenarios,” argue the magistrates of the Court of Auditors.

September 26, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

EDF: Court of Auditors warns of a model running out of steam.

Debt, deteriorating profitability, investments: in a report submitted to the National Assembly, the Court warns against the sustainability of EDF’s economic model and calls on the State to clarify its choices. 

By Géraldine Woessner, 09/23/2025

With rising debt, declining profitability, and €460 billion of investments to finance by 2040, 
EDF will not be able to carry out the energy transition alone, the Court of Auditors warns in essence in a report commissioned by the National Assembly’s Finance Committee, which is to be presented to MPs this Wednesday.

 Le Point 23rd Sept 2025, https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/edf-la-cour-des-comptes-alerte-sur-un-modele-a-bout-de-souffle-23-09-2025-2599408_23.php

September 25, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Jellyfish Force another French Nuclear Reactor to Shut Down

By Charles Kennedy – Sep 04, 2025,
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Jellyfish-Force-another-French-Nuclear-Reactor-to-Shut-Down.html

For a second time in three weeks, a swarm of jellyfish has forced the closure of a nuclear reactor in France in another curious incident in which jellyfish entered the filters of the water cooling systems.

The Paluel nuclear power plant in Normandy, northern France, saw its electricity generation nearly halve by 2.4 gigawatts (GW) out of a total 5.2-GW capacity, due to the presence of jellyfish that have entered the filtering system, French operator EDF said on Thursday, as carried by Reuters.

One of four reactors at Paluel was shut down while power output at another reactor was curtailed to prevent further disruption due to the jellyfish swarm.

oday’s incident at Paluel occurred just over three weeks after a jellyfish swarm clogged the cooling system of the Gravelines nuclear power plant near Dunkerque and Calais. As a result, four of six units at one of France’s largest nuclear power plants automatically switched off, while the remaining two units were already shut down for planned maintenance. Gravelines has six reactors, each with a capacity of 900 megawatts (MW).

At the time, France’s EDF said there was “no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment.”

Reactors at the Gravelines power plant are cooled from a canal linked to the North Sea, where jellyfish are swarming near the coast during hot weather and warm waters.

Global warming can worsen the jellyfish problem in waters cooling reactors close to seas, scientists have warned.

In recent years, heatwaves and too hot waters in rivers have disrupted France’s nuclear power generation, too.

France’s nuclear power generation accounts for around 70% of its electricity mix, and when its reactors are fully operational, it is a net exporter of electricity to other European countries.

But in 2022 and 2023, EDF was forced to curb power generation at some nuclear plants as heatwaves raised the temperatures of rivers. The power plant operator had to limit electricity output because of environmental regulations for using river water for cooling nuclear reactors.

September 7, 2025 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

NFLAs join nuclear test appeal to French and Algerian Governments

 On the UN International Day against Nuclear Tests (29 August), the
UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities have joined French, Algerian and
global partners in appealing to the French and Algerian Governments for
justice for the victims of French nuclear tests in North Africa.

 NFLA 29th Aug 2025 https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/nflas-join-nuclear-test-appeal-to-french-and-algerian-governments/

September 5, 2025 Posted by | France, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

“We gave for France… now that’s enough”: La Hague residents reject Orano’s nuclear pools project

by Marie du Mesnil-Adelée, 08/31/2025, https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/normandie/manche/cherbourg-cotentin/on-a-donne-pour-la-france-maintenant-ca-suffit-des-habitants-de-la-hague-rejettent-le-projet-des-piscines-nucleaires-d-orano-3205250.html

“It’s never too late to say: we don’t want it.” Gathered at a public meeting, residents of La Hague spoke out against the “Downstream of the Future” project at the Orano site. A project that includes the installation of three new nuclear pools for storing spent fuel.

An extraordinary nuclear project in La Hague

An extraordinary nuclear project at La Hague, presented by Orano as “the largest industrial project in the world”, costing several tens of billions of euros, “Downstream of the Future” (that’s its name), plans the construction of three new nuclear pools for storing spent fuel and also new workshops and factories on the La Hague site by 2040-2050.

How is this project received by residents?

How is this project being received by residents? In his documentary “Encore de l’énergie” broadcast on Thursday, September 4 on France 3 Normandie and france.tv, Laurent Pannier filmed a public meeting.

Yannick Rousselet, a nuclear expert for Greenpeace, spoke: ” There was no consultation . We would like to debate the appropriateness, the justification of something like this. Today is good. We have given for France, for the nuclear industry and that’s enough. Let’s stop, let’s move on. We want our future to be shaped differently. I think it’s never too late to say we don’t want it.”

A resident adds: “I find it a bit easy for Orano to be able to do whatever they want in terms of construction, however they want, while all the residents of La Hague, as soon as they want to have a window transformed, put in a veranda, do anything, they can’t do anything.”

And a third: 
“Today we only have 4 or 5 small hectares of moorland left. It’s more than a relic now, it’s become a symbol. People are saying to us: well, since there’s more than that left, we’re going to remove it and I think that’s a real shame.”

The words are powerful. But the room is far from full… Here, as elsewhere, nuclear power divides. And 
those who oppose it are a minority.

Anti-nuclear activists of yesterday and today

In April 2006, the city of Cherbourg held its largest demonstration since the Liberation. Twenty years after Chernobyl, 30,000 activists gathered to protest the proposed construction of a new reactor in Flamanville, the EPR.

Yet, fifteen years later, despite construction delays, despite the additional costs, despite the Fukushima disaster, distrust of nuclear energy has virtually disappeared. Environmental movements are divided between pro- and anti-nuclear supporters. And the announcement of the revival of nuclear power in France, particularly in Normandy, has been generally welcomed by the population.

Laurent Pannier’s new documentary explores this reversal. What happened to the former activists? Is there a new generation? In the face of climate change, is nuclear power a necessary evil?

“Encore de l’énergie” by Laurent Pannier, a documentary to watch this Thursday, September 4 at 10:55 p.m. on France 3 Normandie and on france.tv , for one month.

September 4, 2025 Posted by | France, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

The final furlong: EDF announces further lifetime extension for aging AGR reactors

 Britain’s aging Advanced Gas Cooled reactors may, like exhausted
racehorses, be on their last legs, but operator EDF Energy is clearly
intent on keeping them running for as long as possible.

The company
announced yesterday a twelve month extension in operations at their Heysham
1 and Hartlepool AGR plants until March 2028, citing the retention of jobs
and a desire to contribute to the UK achieving net zero and energy security
– but the NFLAs suspect a more pressing motivation.

In a comment to
industry media, NFLA Secretary Richard Outram said: ‘The EDF announcement
is unsurprising. Although company bosses may crow a lot about the
preservation of local jobs, the NFLAs suspect this is about the
preservation of EDF’s bottom line. ‘Given the parlous state of the
French parent company’s finances, the intermittent output of the domestic
fleet, and the vast overspend on Hinkley Point C, EDF have a clear
incentive to keep open for as long as possible any nuclear plant in their
portfolio which operates and generates profits.’

Dr Ian Fairlie, an
independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment and a former
advisor to the UK Government and European Parliament, is also sceptical as
to EDF’s motives: “The real reason why French parent company
Électricité de France wants to prolong the lives of their obsolete,
past-it, reactors is financial.

 NFLA 3rd Sept 2025, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/the-final-furlong-edf-announces-further-lifetime-extension-for-aging-agr-reactors/

September 4, 2025 Posted by | France, politics, UK | Leave a comment

How France’s nuclear dream became a financial nightmare

Decades of neglect, spiralling costs and political denial have turned France’s once-vaunted nuclear program into a cautionary tale, writes Jean-Luc Porquet (translated by Dr Evan Jones).

By Jean-Luc Porquet | 22 August 2025, https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/how-frances-nuclear-dream-became-a-financial-nightmare,20076

Translator’s note: The French nuclear power sector is in deep trouble technically and financially. Formally a cheap source of power, embedded costs have not been counted. There has been a dramatic loss of skills over the decades, inhibiting effective maintenance of existing plants and turning the construction of France’s then most powerful reactor at Flamanville on the Normandy coast into a nightmare.

Technological and resource challenges have escalated, including water availability in the face of climate change. The plan to bury accumulated highly radioactive waste at Bure, 250 kilometres east of Paris, remains at an impasse. And the political class lives in denial.

Meanwhile, sections of the Coalition parties cling to nuclear power as Australia’s post-coal salvation. Australia has uranium. However, regarding nuclear power prospects, there is no history, no capacities, no acceptable locations, no acceptable burial sites and no water. In short, local nuclear power adherents have no brains.

EVERYTHING WAS SUPPOSED to work to plan.

The 58 French nuclear reactors built at an accelerated pace between 1977 and 1996 were due to tranquilly finish their life after 30 years of good and faithful service. And the new super-powerful EPRs [European Pressurised Reactors], designed and built by Éléctricité de France, were to effect a seamless transition.

It was estimated that, by 2012, the first French EPR would be put into operation at Flamanville.

Kapow! Not only has its cost, initially fixed at €3.3 billion [AU$5.9 billion], multiplied by six (!), but its construction site has proved a nightmare. The EPR was connected to the grid only in 2024. And it has hardly run since (it is currently in shutdown).

An emergency patch-up job has been necessary on the aged French nuclear park so that its tired reactors can hang on for another 20 years. Total cost of this major overhaul now in progress: €100 billion [AU$180 billion].

At the moment when the urgent necessity to find €40 billion [AU$72 billion] in economies for the 2026 budget obsesses the Bayrou Government [under pressure from Brussels], Reporterre publishes on YouTube a remarkable documentary by journalist Laure Noualhat, titled Nucléaire – Comment il va ruiner la France. (See also Noulhat’s book, Le nucléaire va ruiner la France, Seuil-Reporterre, 224p.) It is noted there that, in the fairytale world that is nuclear energy, billions waltz out by the dozens. The golden rule is: “Whatever it costs!”

Other inescapable costs to come? To prolong the life of the plant at The Hague, where nuclear fuel is processed and which is at the end of its life — rough estimate: €34 billion [AU$61 billion]. To continue to dig deep at Bure, where the most dangerous nuclear waste will be buried 500 metres below ground — estimated cost: €35 billion [AU$63 billion]. To dismantle the 58 reactors, which, even patched up, will finish by being at the end of their life in ten or 20 years — cost: €50 billion. Total: €219 billion [AU$395.8 billion] to find. This is not all.

The EDF has sold an EPR to Finland for €3 billion [AU$5.4 billion] and two others to the United Kingdom for €22 billion [AU$39.7 billion]. And has promised to take care of any additional costs. Such comes in at €12 billion [AU$21.6 billion] for the former, €56 billion [AU$101 billion] for the latter. Do the maths.

Thomas Piquemal, the EDF’s chief financial officer at the time, went into meltdown. And resigned [in March 2016]. And this is not all.

In 2022, President Macron announced that, at his demand, the EDF will launch six “new generation” EPRs [initially, then eight more to 2050]. Hand on heart, it will happen (in fact, one knows nothing about them). Estimated total price: €100 billion [AU$180.7 billion] (more or less). A former EDF Director, Philippe Huet, interviewed by Laure Noualhat, called this a “crazy gamble”.

If ever this delusional program (transparently dismissed by the Cour des comptes [equivalent to the National Audit Office] as inadvisable) sees the day, who will pay for it? Not the EDF, already indebted to the tune of €55 billion [AU$99 billion]. Nor any private investor (not mad!). Guess… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfHyhkpef8

Jean-Luc Porquet has been a journalist at Le Canard enchaîné since 1994, where this article appeared on 9 July. He writes a column on ecology and technocratic society, as well as theatre reviews. He has written a dozen books, the latest of which, Le grand procès des animaux, is a satirical fictional account of the sixth extinction in progress.

August 27, 2025 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

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