Emmanuel Macron opts for a nuclear revival

The closure of the Fessenheim power plant (Haut-Rhin) was a promise made by candidate Macron, which materialized in 2020, and it is a symbol of the reduction in the share of nuclear power in France. However, Thursday, February 10, the president must announce a massive revival of the nuclear industry with new EPR reactors. According to the government, there will be no reversal: the objective of going from 75 to 50% nuclear power in 2035 remains the same. But it is a matter of energy sovereignty and industrial policy.

All the candidates made it a subject during the 2022 presidential campaign. The whole right is in favor, but for the PS and France Insoumise, there is no question of building new power stations and environmentalists remain firmly opposed to nuclear power. “Nuclear poses problems, we shouldn’t forget it and I don’t think the French have forgotten it”, indicates Hubert-Julien Lafferière, spokesperson for Yannick Jadot.