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• ASN suspends some Socatri operations at Tricastin

  France's nuclear regulator, the ASN, has been informed by Areva NC subsidiary Socatri that it has exceeded its annual limit for releases of carbon-14. ASN has ordered the company to suspend all its activities that generate the long-lived radionuclide until the end of 2008. Posted Aug 07 2008, 11:00 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Areva, France

• Tricastin investigations continue while pipe rupture is announced

  Inspections have continued at Tricastin into the uranium solution spill. Meanwhile, a pipe for the discharge of a similar substance at another French site has been revealed to be ruptured. Posted Jul 18 2008, 01:01 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France, Tricastin

• France and Libya sign for nuclear cooperation

  France has signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Libya, adding to previous such agreements signed with other North African nations. In the last year France has concluded agreements with every North African country on the Mediterranean except Egypt. Posted Jul 11 2008, 12:16 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France, Libya

• Second new reactor for France

  President Nicolas Sarkozy has told nuclear workers they can look forward to a second new nuclear construction project. The announcement came after a tour of a factory for nuclear components in the Burgundy nuclear cluster. Posted Jul 03 2008, 10:15 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: New Nuclear Plants, France

• Safety authority asks for steam generator measures

  Electricité de France has been given until 30 September to implement preventative safety measures in steam generators at its French nuclear reactors including plugging tubes affected by an anomaly in anti-vibration measures Posted Jun 24 2008, 01:02 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: EDF, France, Steam Generators

• Inaugural meeting of French transparency committee

  France's new national committee on nuclear information - the High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety - held its first meeting on 18 June. The committee's mandate is to act as a forum for the discussion of all issues related to public access to nuclear safety information. Posted Jun 19 2008, 12:27 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France

• French government considering second EPR

  [Reuters, 13 June] French prime minister François Fillon, whilst being interviewed on national television, said that the government was considering constructing a second Evolutionary Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR). He said, "We have already decided to build the first EPR, that's to say a new generation power station." Fillon added, "We are currently considering, with the President of the republic and the industry minister, launching construction of a second station." French utility Electricité de France (EdF) began construction of a demonstration unit of Areva's 1650 MWe EPR in Flamanville in late 2007. The reactor, a third-generation design, is similar to the one under construction at Olkiluoto, Finland. The Flamanville unit is scheduled to begin operating in 2012. Posted Jun 13 2008, 09:52 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France, EPRI

• Modifications required to EdF reactors

  Electricite de France (EdF) has found a generic design defect on 14 of its nuclear power reactors. The utility must make repairs in order to "completely guarantee" safety in an earthquake. Posted May 30 2008, 10:21 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: EDF, France, earthquake

• Britain, France: Use nuclear to offset oil prices

  [Energy Daily, 27 May; BBC, 28 May] The prime ministers of Britain and France have both called for increases in nuclear power generation as a response to record oil prices. While speaking to the oil industry near Aberdeen, UK prime minister Gordon Brown said it was time to be "more ambitious" for nuclear, adding that no artificial limit would be set on the amount of nuclear energy, or any other low-carbon source, the country could use. "We will have to do more than simply replace existing nuclear capability in Britain," he said, hinting that new nuclear generation sites could be established in future. Across the channel in France, prime minister François Fillon said: "We must continue to develop France's nuclear program because that was the right response in 1970 and it remains the right reponse" to high energy costs. Both countries have faced protests in recent days over the cost of transport fuels. In deregulated markets, electricity prices are also linked to oil prices through the use of natural gas. Fillon concluded: "We are not dealing with a crisis, we are dealing with a long-term increase of the price of oil." Posted May 29 2008, 08:27 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: UK, France

• Ministerial nuclear council

  France is to create a top-level council on nuclear energy. Consisting of ministers and chaired by the President, it will decide France's nuclear policy. The move clearly underlines the importance of nuclear technologies to France in terms of economic strength as well as power supply and military capability. Posted May 01 2008, 11:37 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France

• Tunisia signs up for French nuclear cooperation

  Tunisia has become the latest country to sign a nuclear cooperation deal with France. The 20-year deal, signed by the countries' presidents, Zine al Abidine Ben Ali and Nicolas Sarkozy, covers training of engineers and the exchange of nuclear expertise, and is similar to recent deals between France and Algeria, Libya and Morocco. France has signed nuclear cooperation deals with many countries around the world that as yet do not have nuclear power. Such deals could help to pave the way for future sales of French nuclear power plants in those countries. Posted Apr 29 2008, 12:04 PM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France, Tunisia

• Japan and France discuss nuclear's future role

  Japan and France share the same vision of nuclear energy's "paramount role for prosperity and sustainable development in the 21st century," according to a joint statement made by their respective prime ministers. Posted Apr 11 2008, 10:45 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Japan, France

• France and the UK agree to reinforce cooperation

  France and the UK have announced greater cooperation on a range of issues, including nuclear power regulation, preventing nuclear terrorism and combating climate change. Posted Mar 28 2008, 09:13 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: UK, France

• France and South Africa sign nuclear skills agreements

  France's Areva and Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa) have signed agreements that will see Areva's support for engineering and nuclear skills development extended and increased. The agreements were signed by Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon and Necsa CEO Rob Adam during a ceremony in Cape Town. Posted Mar 03 2008, 11:48 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: Areva, France, South Africa, Nuclear Energy Corporation

• Kurchatov Institute signs contract for Iter superconductor

  The Kurchatov Institute is to supply a superconductor for the toroidal field magnet system of the Iter fusion project to be built at Cadarache, France. The Kurchatov Institute will manufacture the superconductor, deliver it to Cadarache and then test it. Posted Feb 14 2008, 11:59 AM by World Nuclear News Filed under: France