Cautious unions following Macron's announcement on the construction of new nuclear reactors

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron announced that France would relaunch a nuclear program and build new reactors on its soil, however postponing details of these future EPRs until later.

Renewing the nuclear fleet "is an unprecedented industrial and social challenge," said Virginie Neumayer, CGT union representative at EDF, to AFP.

"The president does not seek to lead the employees with him", she lamented because at the same time, "we have announcements of unprecedented social regression".

At EDF, "short-term profitability requirements are incompatible with a commitment to invest in nuclear power," explains Ms. Neumayer.

The bell sound is different at Nicolas Vincent, CGT secretary general of the Penly (Seine-Maritime) plant, designated Wednesday to host a future EPR reactor. "The news is very well received," he relayed.

The 30-year-old plant "could consider operating around the age of 60 but here it is really prolonged", he said, indicating that the challenge now lies in the need for manpower to achieve the work - between 8 and 10.000 people according to Mr. Vincent.

"Building new nuclear tools is essential if we want to continue the energy transition," said Dominique Bousquenaud, secretary general of the chemistry-energy federation at CFDT. He also called for "continuing the development of all carbon-free energies" to limit the share of nuclear power in electricity production to "50%".

At SUD Energie, we refuse to take any position on the merits of nuclear power or not. But "it should be a democratic choice", through a referendum, pleads Anne Debrégeas, spokesperson for the union.

"The choice of nuclear or not cannot be based on an economic choice, it is a political choice," she said. “Do people prefer the risk of accidents and nuclear waste or have lots of wind turbines or solar panels?” She asks.

According to Ms. Debrégeas, "we have the means to conduct this debate thanks to the work of RTE" and others, but "the president sits on it while there is a real stake in involving people in these choices. ".