Nuclear reactors are "the easiest path to the bomb" says physicist

"Nuclear energy is the easy way to get bombs. It is an alibi for nuclear weapons." This was the clear conclusion drawn by French physicist and peace advocate, Dominique Lalanne, during a conference in Colmar, France in early October. In making the inextricable link between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, Lalanne pointed out that since the state - i.e. president Nicolas Sarkozy - controls the atomic energy agency (CEA), Areva and the military, France's marketing of nuclear power inevitably provides the buying countries with an easy path to the acquisition of nuclear weapons. He also pointed out that the ability to market nuclear technology maintained the desired effect of certain countries exerting power over others. And, finally, he observed that, given the consequences of a reactor accident, a nuclear state had also to be a police state. This last comment had particular resonance with an audience who, the day before, had participated in an anti-nuclear rally in Colmar, a city that had been shut down and put under virtual siege by the local authorities in an effort to diminish the impact of the protest.