Unions at the French energy giant EDF are calling for strike action over government measures designed to control fuel bill rises, which the company estimates could cost it as much as EUR8.4 billion (USD9.5 billion).

The start of operations for the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor in France has been put back, with EDF saying the Covid-19 pandemic had made preparations "more difficult".

The first equipment has arrived at a deconversion plant being built by Russia's Rosatom and France's Orano in eastern Siberia. The plant is part of a long-term project to manage and make use of depleted uranium stocks in Russia.

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and Onet Technologies expect early next year to begin dismantling the C419 cell of the APM pilot used fuel reprocessing plant facility at CEA's Marcoule site. A robot developed for the task is currently dismantling the front wall of the cell in order to gain access.

French engineering group Assystem has signed a cooperation agreement with newly-created French micro-reactor developer Naarea to build its ultra-compact eXtra Small Modular Reactor (XSMR). Dassault Systèmes is to supply Naarea with a cloud-based platform on which to virtually design the 1 to 40 MW molten salt reactor. Naarea expects the first units of XSMR to be produced by 2030.

EDF has demonstrated commitment to safety at its Belleville nuclear power plant in central France by introducing additional methods to prepare for accident management and using innovative approaches in the training of plant staff, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. The team also identified areas for further enhancement, for example in operation, maintenance and operating experience.

France's Framatome and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom have signed a new strategic cooperation agreement further expanding the companies' efforts to develop fuel fabrication and instrumentation and control  technologies. The new agreement expands the companies' existing relationship, established through a 2017 Memorandum of Understanding, creating a framework for joint work in new areas.

Westinghouse Electric Company and EDF have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to produce cobalt-60 in selected pressurised water reactors owned and operated by EDF in France. The agreement is the first step towards production in Europe of the radioisotope for medical uses, the companies said.

The French government will need to take important decisions to ensure the country gets on track to meet its 2050 net-zero emissions goal, particularly in terms of plans to modernise its nuclear power fleet, according to the International Energy Agency. It said the country may need to delay the planned closure of its 12 oldest reactors by 2035 in order to ensure sufficient supply due to the slow pace of growth in renewable energy.

France's EDF and water, waste and energy management company Veolia will early next year create a joint venture - to be known as Waste2Glass - to develop Veolia's GeoMelt vitrification technology. The partners hope to extend the application of the technology beyond high-level radioactive waste.

France will build new nuclear power reactors in order to maintain its energy security and to meet its climate change goals, President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation yesterday. An official decision on the construction of further EPR reactors in the country is due shortly.

France can achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050 through energy efficiency and electrification that would lead to a 35% increase in electricity demand, the French grid operator has said in a new report. Of the scenarios considered by Réseau de Transport d'Electricité, the cheapest implies constructing 14 large new nuclear power reactors, plus a fleet of small modular reactors, as well as significantly investing in renewables.