Several Greenpeace activists were arrested early Thursday, March 31, after entering the EPR reactor site in Flamanville (Manche) to denounce the "irresponsibility" of pro-nuclear presidential candidates, in the midst of a debate on the future of this energy.

The Cherbourg prosecutor's office confirmed that there had indeed been an intrusion on the site of the only EPR reactor under construction in France.

Several people were arrested, he added without further details.

Seven activists were arrested, according to the NGO.

The operation began around 5:30 a.m. with the arrival of around fifteen activists on the site, where some 2,800 people work, in light rain and a cool wind.

They quickly blocked, with a van and two huge metal tripods, the two main entrances to the site, causing a long queue of vehicles, according to AFP journalists on the spot.

The pedestrian entrance was not blocked.

A van displayed signs "Nuclear: Macron irresponsible" or "+ EPR + fiascos".

Several activists from the environmental defense NGO, some dressed in white overalls, chained themselves to the tripods, under the watchful eye of some gendarmes.

According to several workers, the site was stopped Thursday morning following the intrusion.

EDF management could not be reached at the start of the morning.

Seven other activists, including the director general of Greenpeace France Jean-François Julliard, managed to enter the site and unfurl a banner proclaiming "Nuclear: Macron irresponsible" near the reactor under construction, before being arrested, according to Cécile Génot, communications officer at Greenpeace France.

This operation aims to "denounce the irresponsibility of Emmanuel Macron and other pro-nuclear candidates who want to build new EPR reactors when we see it with the situation in Ukraine, nuclear power is dangerous", explained Nicolas Nace, in charge of energy transition at Greenpeace France.

The NGO indicated that it was targeting more specifically, in addition to the outgoing president, the RN candidate Marine Le Pen as well as Eric Zemmour (Reconquest!), Valérie Pécresse (LR) and the communist Fabien Roussel.

EDF is building this EPR, whose construction site is accumulating delays and additional costs, alongside the two reactors in service at its Flamanville power plant.

"Moratorium"

This new action by Greenpeace, hostile to nuclear power, comes as President Emmanuel Macron announced on February 10 a program to build six EPR reactors in France by 2035, in addition to the one under construction in Normandy.

Launched at the end of 2007, the Norman site is 11 years behind schedule and its cost has risen to 12.7 billion euros according to EDF against 3.3 billion announced in 2006. The Court of Auditors has estimated the bill at 19 billion in 2020 .

The placing on the network of the first kilowatt is announced by EDF for 2023.

Greenpeace France requested at the beginning of the year "a moratorium" on the work, "in order to conduct an independent assessment of the viability of the EPR nuclear reactors".

The NGO has carried out several spectacular actions in recent years against nuclear power plants in France, in particular in Tricastin (Drôme) in February 2020 or in Cattenom (Moselle) in October 2017.

Greenpeace has already targeted the Flamanville EPR site on several occasions.

In 2016, Greenpeace notably blocked a truck carrying a key part of the reactor.

A year later, 13 activists were sentenced to fines of 500 to 1,000 euros in correctional courts in Caen for this action.

The Flamanville EPR is currently the only one under construction in France.

Three EPR reactors have already entered into operation in two countries: two in China, in Taishan, and one in Finland.

An incident led to the shutdown of one of these EPR reactors in Taishan in July.

Two EPRs are also under construction in England at Hinkley Point.

The start of electricity production by the first British reactor is announced for June 2026. Their cost was estimated at the beginning of 2021 at 22 and 23 billion pounds sterling (25.93 to 27.11 billion euros).

With AFP

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