https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed France relies heavily on nuclear power – but regularly shuts down reactors when temperatures soar. With summers getting longer and hotter, can the French nuclear sector cope with climate change? https://www.thelocal.fr/20250702/why-france-shuts-down-its-nuclear-reactors-during-heatwaves Wed, 02 Jul 2025 16:24:49 +0200 why-france-shuts-down-its-nuclear-reactors-during-heatwaves French scientists have reached a ‘crucial milestone’ in the long road towards nuclear fusion by managing to maintain raging-hot plasma for a record 22 minutes, officials have said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250219/france-sets-new-plasma-record-in-hunt-for-nuclear-fusion Wed, 19 Feb 2025 09:54:52 +0100 france-sets-new-plasma-record-in-hunt-for-nuclear-fusion A nuclear power plant in central France has failed a safety check after a pipe linked to the reactor cooling system ruptured during testing, EDF has said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20221109/french-nuclear-plant-reports-ruptured-pipe-during-safety-test Wed, 09 Nov 2022 09:39:49 +0100 french-nuclear-plant-reports-ruptured-pipe-during-safety-test On April 26, 1986, reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant - in Soviet-era Ukraine - exploded. A radioactive ‘cloud’ covered large parts of Europe, but did France really try to hide the danger from the population? https://www.thelocal.fr/20220307/reader-question-did-france-really-try-to-cover-up-the1986-chernobyl-disaster Mon, 07 Mar 2022 14:17:12 +0100 reader-question-did-france-really-try-to-cover-up-the1986-chernobyl-disaster French state-owned energy giant EDF on Saturday began shutting down the country's oldest nuclear power plant after 43 years in operation. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200222/france-begins-shutting-down-oldest-nuclear-plant Sat, 22 Feb 2020 12:00:43 +0100 france-begins-shutting-down-oldest-nuclear-plant A French parliamentary inquiry has flagged up "failings" in the defences of the country's nuclear power plants, days after activists crashed a drone into a facility to underscore safety concerns. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180706/french-mps-warn-of-nuclear-power-safety-failings Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:06:12 +0200 french-mps-warn-of-nuclear-power-safety-failings Police used water cannon and fired tear gas and stun grenades Tuesday as they battled with demonstrators protesting at plans to store nuclear waste at an underground site in northeastern France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170816/protesters-clash-with-police-at-anti-nuclear-demo-in-france Wed, 16 Aug 2017 12:01:40 +0200 protesters-clash-with-police-at-anti-nuclear-demo-in-france France's new environment minister said Monday nearly a third of the country's reactors could be shut under plans to scale back the amount of electricity produced from nuclear power. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170710/france-could-close-a-third-of-its-nuclear-reactors-says-minister Mon, 10 Jul 2017 19:27:50 +0200 france-could-close-a-third-of-its-nuclear-reactors-says-minister France’s world renowned prowess in the nuclear industry is being seriously undermined by its efforts to build a flagship nuclear reactor at Flamanville. The explosion on Thursday is just the latest incident at the plant in what is fast becoming a costly calamity. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170209/flamanville-frances-own-nuclear-nightmare Thu, 09 Feb 2017 13:02:34 +0100 flamanville-frances-own-nuclear-nightmare French nuclear giant Areva's former boss Anne Lauvergeon was charged Friday as part of a probe linked to its disastrous 2007 purchase of a Canadian uranium mining firm, Uramin. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160514/frances-atomic-anne-charged-over-nuclear-deal Sat, 14 May 2016 15:31:41 +0200 frances-atomic-anne-charged-over-nuclear-deal The French government stands ready to inject fresh capital into energy giant EDF if necessary, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160318/france-ready-to-pump-money-into-edf-if-needed Fri, 18 Mar 2016 08:32:54 +0100 france-ready-to-pump-money-into-edf-if-needed The Swiss canton and city of Geneva have lodged a legal complaint against France's Bugey nuclear power plant. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160303/swiss-criminal-complaint-french-nuclear-plant-bugey Thu, 03 Mar 2016 14:50:45 +0100 swiss-criminal-complaint-french-nuclear-plant-bugey France's nuclear power stations remain at maximum alert after the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13th over fears the installations could be a future target of jihadists. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151125/france-ramps-up-security-at-nuclear-power-stations-terrorism Wed, 25 Nov 2015 11:04:48 +0100 france-ramps-up-security-at-nuclear-power-stations-terrorism France's world renowned prowess in the nuclear power industry has taken another blow after officials announced this week, yet another delay to the launch of its next generation reactor, that is fast becoming a costly calamity. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150904/flagship-french-nuclear-reactor-hits-another-snag Fri, 04 Sep 2015 10:19:47 +0200 flagship-french-nuclear-reactor-hits-another-snag French energy giant EDF has sealed a multi-billion euro deal with the British government to construct two new nuclear reactors in the UK, according to a joint statement from EDF and the UK government. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131021/frances-edf-seals-deal-for-uk-nuclear-plants Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:08:00 +0200 frances-edf-seals-deal-for-uk-nuclear-plants The French government remains committed to finishing a new-generation nuclear reactor despite new cost overruns, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121206/nuclear-plant-will-be-finished-despite-massive-costs-pm Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:19:00 +0100 nuclear-plant-will-be-finished-despite-massive-costs-pm A reactor in one of France’s largest nuclear power plants shut down on Monday, triggered by a problem with an emergency circuit for the water supply to steam generators. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121127/technical-hitch-triggers-nuclear-shutdown Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:27:00 +0100 technical-hitch-triggers-nuclear-shutdown