France’s nuclear reactors will not work as normal any time soon

When EDF, the French energy giant, warned in May that nuclear-electricity production this year would be lower than previously forecast because half its reactors were out of action, the timing could not have been worse. Thanks to its nuclear industry, France is usually Europe’s biggest net exporter of electricity. The closures turned the country into a net power importer for the first time, just as the continent faced an energy crunch. When in September EDF then announced that even by 2024 output would still be well below normal levels, the problem became a national embarrassment.