Greenpeace denounces a “scandalous” delivery to France of uranium from Russia

“Greenpeace France denounces the continuation of a scandalous nuclear trade with Russia.” The NGO thus points to Monday, March 20, the reception in France of a “important” shipment of enriched uranium from Russia. “This morning, in Dunkirk, the Russian freighter Baltiyskiy 202 arriving from St. Petersburg unloaded 25 cylindrical containers containing Russian enriched uranium for the French group Orano (ex-Areva)”, Greenpeace said in a statement. These deliveries accredit the “addiction” of France with regard to the Russian nuclear industry, a sector which is still not targeted by international sanctions pronounced more than a year after the invasion of Ukraine.

“This is a new illustration that the French nuclear industry continues to trade uranium with Rosatom”, the Russian public nuclear giant, reacted to AFP Pauline Boyer, campaign manager on nuclear power and energy transition. This delivery comes on the eve of the solemn vote in the National Assembly of the bill on the acceleration of nuclear power. This is the seventh delivery of uranium to France from Russia since the start of the conflict.

The NGO had also noted that France had received from Russia “one third of the enriched uranium needed to operate French nuclear power plants for one year”, a tripling in 2022 according to her. An argument refuted by the government. If the latter “wants to be consistent with its support for the Ukrainian people, it should break all contracts with Rosatom”advanced Pauline Boyer.