Paris (AFP)

Nuclear power should not be "a state in the state," warned Bruno Le Maire, invited Sunday of the Grand Jury on LCI and RTL, in reaction to the delays and additional costs of the EPR sites in France, England and Finland.

"The government has issued warnings for several months.I asked that a completely independent audit on the nuclear industry and the choice of the EPR.I will be handed to me on October 31," said the minister Economy, which has announced that it will draw "all the consequences on all floors", including EDF.

The EPR is a third-generation nuclear reactor designed to provide improved power and safety.

The first EPR project in Olkiluoto (Finland) experienced multiple setbacks, resulting in a delay of at least 10 years in the initial construction schedule.

The second EPR project, led by EDF in Flamanville (Manche), is not expected to be completed by the end of 2022, at least 10 years after the original date, following the discovery of anomalies.

Finally, EDF warned Wednesday that its huge construction site for two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C in England is expected to cost up to 3.3 billion euros more than expected, while the cost had already been re-evaluated upwards. in 2017.

"All these drifts are unacceptable," said the Minister of Economy and Finance. "They are not up to what EDF represents and French expertise in the field," he added.

"I can understand that there may be a technical difficulty, a lack of realization at one time or another, but when the delays accumulate, when the defects accumulate, it is necessary to make the point, to make it of independently and above all draw all the conclusions, "said Bruno Le Maire.

"It is not the French who will pay for these delays," he also said, while the British government was quick to remind Wednesday that under the contract negotiated with EDF, the taxpayer of the United Kingdom United would not have to pay any more.

"Nuclear energy is essential for the success of the energy transition", nevertheless answered Bruno Le Maire to question the journalists on the economic viability of the sector.

© 2019 AFP