How did France come to run on nuclear power?
After the 1973 oil shock France built so many reactors that nuclear gave it about two-thirds of its electricity.
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France runs on nuclear power because it chose to after an oil shock. Since the mid-1980s the largest source of electricity there has been nuclear, and in 2018 its 71.67 percent share was the highest in the world. As of December 2023 about two-thirds of France's electricity came from nuclear, against a global average of just under 10 percent.
The decision dates to the 1973 . On 6 March 1974 prime minister Pierre Messmer announced what became known as the Messmer plan, a hugely ambitious programme aimed at generating most of France's electricity from nuclear power, based on projections that large amounts of electric power would be needed. It was enacted without public or parliamentary debate.
The results are mixed, and supporters and critics read them differently. On the plus side, the heavy reliance gives France one of the lowest CO2 emissions per unit of electricity in the world: 85 grams per against a global average of 438. On the other side, hindsight showed that too much capacity was installed at first, leaving a low of 61 percent by 1988 and high exports. Opinion has been divided too: a 2001 poll found nearly 70 percent had a good opinion of nuclear power, yet 56 percent preferred not to live near a plant.
The system has also met trouble. In 2022 twelve reactors were shut for inspections and output fell to its lowest since 1993. France's reactors are run by , with 56 operable reactors as of June 2020.
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Recap
France answered the 1973 oil shock by building a nuclear-heavy grid that is low in carbon but has had overcapacity early on and maintenance problems later.
💡 A trick to remember it · Oil ran short in seventy-three, so France split atoms for electricity.
Surprising fact · A Swiss activist once fired five rockets at the Superphénix plant while it was under construction.
Connects to
- ⚖️ How dangerous is nuclear power compared with coal, gas and wind?
- ⚛️ How does a nuclear power plant turn splitting atoms into electricity?
- 🏗️ Why are new nuclear plants so expensive and so late?
- 🔋 How do energy security and the shift to renewables fit together?
- ⛽ Why did the 1973 oil embargo shock the world?
- Electrical grid
Sources (1)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (17 claims) cites at least one of these.