France, Germany, the UK and the USA have called on Iran to comply with all its legally-binding international obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported changes to the configuration of centrifuges at Iran's Fordow plant.

Researchers at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission have used muons - cosmic particles - to remotely and non-invasively create a 3D image of the G2 reactor at Marcoule, France, which is undergoing decommissioning.

The Nuclear Policy Council - headed by President Emmanuel Macron - met on 3 February to "take stock of the entire French nuclear dossier, both in the short and long-term". The council has called for a new skills development programme, as well as studies into how radioactive waste will be managed, in order for a nuclear new-build programme to be launched.

The foreign ministers of the three nations have formally announced a trilateral initiative which will focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, at the request of the government, has issued an opinion on the safety options file for EDF's EPR1200 pressurised water reactor design. It said its opinion on the safety options for the design - intended for export - is broadly similar to that it gave in July 2019 on those of the EPR2 reactor, from which it is derived.

Kazakhstan is continuing discussions with French company EDF including proposals for an EPR-1200 reactor, the Kazakh Ministry of Energy has confirmed. EDF is one of four potential nuclear suppliers the country is now considering.

The French Financial Markets Authority has suspended the state's full takeover of EDF until the Paris Court of Appeal rules on a lawsuit brought by minority shareholders in EDF challenging the deal.

The French Senate has overwhelmingly approved a draft bill aimed at accelerating procedures related to the construction of new nuclear facilities near existing nuclear sites and to the operation of existing facilities. The bill was adopted in its first reading in the Senate, with 239 votes in favour and 16 against. 

French radioactive waste management agency Andra has applied for a construction licence for the planned Centre Industriel de Stockage Géologique (Cigéo) deep geological disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste.

The French Senate has begun discussing a bill aimed at accelerating procedures related to the construction of new nuclear facilities near existing nuclear sites and to the operation of existing facilities. In February last year, President Emmanuel Macron proposed the construction of six new EPR2 reactors, with an option for a further eight EPR2 reactors to follow.

Polish renewable energy trader Respect Energy has signed an agreement with EDF to cooperate on the development of nuclear power projects in Poland based on France's Nuward small modular reactor technology.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor fusion project has given a progress update on tackling the defects discovered last year in the thermal shields and vacuum vessel sector. It hopes to tender for the thermal shield work, and have a contractor in place, by the end of March.