French President Emmanuel Macron wants to quickly fill the "nuclear renaissance" he has proclaimed with life.

The French Ministry of Energy announced on Tuesday that construction of a new reactor should begin before the end of his second term in spring 2027 and thus a few months earlier than previously planned.

Six plants of the European pressurized water reactor (EPR) type are to go on stream from 2035.

Niklas Zaboji

Economic correspondent in Paris

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The schedule is considered ambitious.

The completion of the EPR in Flamanville in Normandy is still ongoing, according to the latest information by mid-2023. The year 2012 was originally planned. In addition, the new building in Flamanville has become almost four times as expensive as planned, the operator group Électricité de France (EDF ) currently expects 12.7 billion euros.

The French government estimates the cost of the new reactors at 52 to 56 billion euros, but estimates of 64 billion euros are already circulating.

To speed up the design and construction of the six reactors -- up to eight others are under review -- the Department of Energy is working on legislation to shorten administrative procedures.

A draft was sent for consultation to the so-called National Council for Ecological Transition, which brings together employers, trade unions, environmentalists and local authority representatives.

EDF is desperately looking for staff

Some elements, such as exceptions to species protection, are in a similar form in the draft law for the accelerated expansion of wind and solar power.

The government justifies the speed increase with the urgency of climate change and the increasing demand for electricity in the course of decarbonization.

She also expects to gain time from the fact that the six new reactors are all to be built at the sites of existing nuclear power plants, such as Penly in Normandy.

EDF, which is around 84 percent state-owned and is to be completely renationalized in the coming weeks, is meanwhile continuing to struggle with the maintenance and repair work in the existing nuclear power plants.

27 out of 56 reactors were still not connected to the grid on Tuesday.

According to the latest forecast, the defaults will burden the group result this year by 29 billion euros.

At the same time, EDF is desperately looking for new staff.

The market researchers from Index-Research count around 17,200 job advertisements in the period from January to August after 9,400 and 7,000 in the same period of the two previous years.

More than a third of the advertisements are for technical professions such as engineers and designers.