Total outages of nuclear reactors in France 2019-2023, by type
France registered 7,103 reactor-days of nuclear reactor unavailability in 2023, down from over 8,500 the previous year. EDF, the French electric utility company that manages the country’s nuclear fleet, started the revision of its nuclear reactors in 2021, after the identification of stress corrosion cracking in the facilities. The planned or forced power cuts caused by maintenance operations affected all nuclear reactors in France.
Nuclear energy sector in France
Although France is among the global leaders in terms of operable nuclear power capacity, the country is facing a steep decline in domestic nuclear energy production due to the technical anomalies of its nuclear plants. Nuclear power production declined by over 20 percent between 2021 and 2022 and was still below average in 2023.
What does the future hold?
EDF is now inspecting the French nuclear fleet, planning to finish by 2025. As of 2024, half of France's nuclear fleet was over 40 years old, necessitating monitoring and maintenance. Meanwhile, one nuclear reactor is under construction in the country and the government is planning at least six new generation reactors.
