Geneva, which is situated about 70 kilometres away, would have to be evacuated should there be a major problem at the facility, it argues.The city and canton of Geneva had jointly issued a complaint two years ago, but it was thrown out by a French court because the “facts were insufficiently characterised”. The fresh complaint, filed with the Paris regional court, said the Bugey plant “represents a major risk to the safety and health of the population and the environment”. Bugey is one of France’s oldest nuclear power plants, which entered into service in 1972.The complaint, lodged with a French court, argues that the ageing Bugey plant has design faults, leakage problems and is located in an earthquake and flood risk area. 

Former French environment minister Corinne Lepage, now an environmental law specialist, has been retained to represent Geneva in the case in 2018. Geneva’s constitution calls for action to “oppose nuclear power facilities, radioactive waste dumps and treatment centres on cantonal territory or in the neighbouring region”. In this second attempt, she has been reinforced by the expert Yves Marignac, director of the WISE press agency in Paris. (3). (5). 

In 2012, Geneva officially objected to authorisation given to the French operator of Bugey, EDF, to create a nuclear waste depot at the site, but the complaint was rejected by the French government.   

President Macron, in 2018, had explained that the French government would by 2035 shut down 14 nuclear reactors out of the 58 now running at 19 plants. It plans to cap the amount of electricity it derives from nuclear plants at 50% by 2035. France depends more on nuclear energy than any other country, getting about three-quarters of its electricity from the plants. Macron confirmed the first nuclear reactors to close will be those of Fessenheim, 50km north of Basel on the border with Germany, in a process that will start by 2020. This was confirmed, and Fessenheim closed down. Bugey could be one of eight of the oldest French reactors still in operation that closes down from 2027.