“While most European countries are struggling to free themselves from their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, one state rightly seems less worried than its neighbors: France, land of nuclear energy.”
Nothing to celebrate too quickly, however, warns the Financial Times, because maintenance problems and difficulties within the EDF group, as well as the lack of investment in the sector in recent years, are undermining French energy sovereignty.
“Half of France’s 56 reactors are offline – a record – including 12 shut down due to corrosion inspections.” Last year, 69% of French electricity came from atomic energy. This year, due to breakdowns, the figure is 59%, “which affected the finances of the state-controlled energy group, EDF”.
Between the increase in energy demand, the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, “these outages could not have come at a worse time”. Especially since corrosion problems take time to repair and will therefore not be solved anytime soon.
In February, Emmanuel Macron promised to relaunch “the French nuclear adventure”unveiling a 52 billion euro investment plan to rebuild reactors to limit the country’s carbon emissions.
To start the “renaissance” of the French nuclear industry, the president will first have to find qualified personnel for this very technical sector, which is terribly lacking. He will then have to win in the legislative elections against the union of the left, opposed to the development of nuclear power. Finally, it will be necessary to obtain European support to label nuclear power as green energy. This would guarantee France investments for the construction of new reactors, now necessary for the production of the largest net exporter of electricity in the region, of which Europe remains “tributary”.