the Liot group filed a motion to reject the bill beforehand

A motion for prior rejection of the nuclear safety reform bill was tabled on Friday by the Liot group in the National Assembly.

The Libertés, Independents, Overseas and Territories (Liot) group in the National Assembly tabled, Friday March 8, a motion for prior rejection of the bill to reform the governance of nuclear safety, the economy department learned and social media from franceinfo to the Liot group.

Adopted at first reading in the Senate on February 13, this text provides for the merger of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) and the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). The government wants this merger to “strengthen” nuclear safety, to support the revival of the sector. But the bill faces opposition from associations, elected officials and those primarily concerned.

“The current system must not be called into question”

Liot du Nord MP Benjamin Saint-Huile, who describes himself as “pro-nuclear“, explains Friday to franceinfo be “against the merger of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) and the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), both on the method and on the timetable”. Because according to him, “fusion can represent a form of risk at a time when we want to accelerate nuclear power, with the construction of EPR2 reactors and small SMR reactors. We consider that the current system, which has proven itself, should not be challenged”. The MP believes that“we need to strengthen expertise and transparency.”

The unions also believe that this law will “degrade the quality of nuclear and radiological risk assessment”. Several hundred IRSN employees demonstrated again on Tuesday near the National Assembly. That same day, the deputies rejected in committee the key article of the bill, providing for this merger between the ASN and the IRSN.

However, the presidential camp will try to restore this article by amendment, during the examination of the bill in the hemicycle, from March 11. However, if the motion for prior rejection tabled by the Liot group is adopted, the nuclear safety governance reform bill will be rejected before even being examined by the deputies. The merger project had already been rejected by the Assembly a year ago, during debates on the bill on nuclear acceleration.