French minister says EPR is not proven to be safe or competitive

French energy minister Francois De Rugy has cast doubt on the construction of additional European pressurised reactor (EPR) nuclear reactors in France in an interview on French radio station Europe 1 on Sunday. The outlook for the French nuclear sector was “not guaranteed”, De Rugy said, referring in particular to the bankruptcy of nuclear manufacturer Areva (now Orano), which was narrowly rescued by the French state. “There are problems with the EPR,” the minister said, adding that the technology was not proven to be technologically viable, safe or competitive. France needed to decide whether to build new reactors of this type between “2021 and 2023”, he said. More