After narrowly surviving a no-confidence vote over its pension reform proposal, France’s parliament overwhelmingly approved the government’s nuclear investment plan on Tuesday.
Four hundred two voted for and 130 against the nuclear renewal plan, which includes building six additional nuclear reactors. An opposition-led no-confidence motion received 278 votes on Monday, nine short of the 287 required to overthrow the government.
“Following the Senate last month, the lower house this evening by a strong majority voted in favor of the nuclear plan… the outcome of co-construction, to confront climate change and preserve our energy sovereignty,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted.
After his government almost fell over the pension reform proposal, President Emmanuel Macron aims to recover the initiative with additional measures in the coming weeks. His centrist party agrees with the conservative Les Republicains and the far-right Rassemblement National on nuclear energy.
Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher tweeted that this was the first step in the “immense ambition of relaunching our nuclear sector.”
She added that administrative processes should not delay the life extension or building of new nuclear reactors.
“This initiative is the largest scientific, industrial, and human adventure our country has seen since the seventies,” Pannier-Runacher remarked.
Macron plans to build the first next-generation EPR2 nuclear reactor before his second five-year term ends in May 2027 as part of a 52 billion euro ($56 billion) plan to build six reactors.
France’s first-generation EPR at Flamanville, western France, is years behind and billions over budget. In addition, its fleet of 56 reactors has endured months of significant outages, lowering nuclear power production to a 30-year low.
Comment Template