According to the radiation protection and nuclear safety institute, 53% of the French consider that this energy was a good thing for France, but they would be 45% to oppose the construction of new plants.
by
The choice of nuclear power has never been the subject of public consultation, and yet the French remain mainly attached to this energy intimately linked to the industrial history of the country. This is in any case what emerges from the Last barometer of the radiation protection and nuclear safety institute (IRSN) on the perception of risks and security, published in May. On the occasion of the 10 years of the Fukushima accident (Japan), the public institution has made extensive study to trace the evolution of the French feelings towards nuclear power. According to the IRSN, 53% consider that nuclear power has been a good thing for France. A record score, since in the 1990s they were less than 30% to think.
Curiously, it does not have much to do with global warming. And for good reason, the French, who live in the world most nuclearized in the world, actually suffer from a serious lack of information on the subject. 69%, they remain persuaded that nuclear power contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (BVA, 2019 survey) , even though the climate has become one of their major concerns (the e , behind health and terrorism). With regard to the perception of the risks of nuclear power, the question of the storage of waste is ironed, in 2020, before that of the accidents (which was reassembled very much after Fukushima), and the high costs of the industry.
Energy Security
At the bottom, why do the French remain so attached to their old plants? In fact, as at the time of the construction of the park, in the 1960s, it is the argument of energy security which remains preponderant, followed by that of cheap electricity.
How to replace these numbers in current debates? Should we conclude that the French are ready to resign for the next fifty years? Nothing is less sure. According to the IRSN, they would be 45% to oppose the construction of new power plants, compared to only 29% favorable. But EDF, who realized his own home survey, comes to substantially different conclusions: according to the electrician, 52% of the French would be convinced that we will not be able to do without nuclear in the thirty years to come, even by developing massively Renewable … As always with polls, you have to be wary of how the question is posed.