France, EU nuclear powerhouse

France has by far the most nuclear power of any country in the EU, with 58 reactors in total. Chooz, in the northeast, near the border with Belgium, opened its doors to euronews.

The plant director Olivier Lamarre followed a line of presentation commonly heard within the civil industry, one of certainty and reassurance.

Lamarre said: “We have a crisis organisation of 56 people at Chooz, who can be mobilised within one hour, to come and join us. We have rupture and leakage scenarios which can be applied. In the case of some leaks we have techniques to balance pressures to stop them. Afterwards we cool down the reactor and secure it.”

Two reactors at Chooz were connected to the grid in 1996 and 1997.

Some 80 percent of France’s electricity consumption depends on nuclear generation.

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