Pro-nuclear Sarkozy wins French election

The Conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy was elected French President on 6 May. He won 53% of the national vote, while Socialist candidate Segolene Royal got 47%. If elected, Royal had promised to revoke the decree signed by the current Conservative government in April that approved Electricite de France's (EdF's) construction of an EPR unit at Flamanville. She had also promised to hold a new national debate on energy policy. Royal said the decision taken by the French parliament to develop the EPR was taken under conditions of contestable analysis and debate, no impact study was presented and there were no proposals for diversification of the energy mix. However, Sarkozy's victory means that EdF will keep its licence to build the 1600 MWe reactor. He has stated that combating climate change will be one of his priorities.