There is a grave problem in Europe and elsewhere with what to do with the nuclear power plants built in the 1970s and 1980s. As it could be foreseen, the Fessenheim nuclear plants in France will be defintively closed down. In March 2017, Greenpeace and other environmental groups organised protests throughout the country to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and to demand the closure of nuclear plants in France. In Strasbourg, Alsace,  hundreds of people gathered to demand the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, which was the first to be built in France back in 1977. They came from France as well as nearby Switzerland and Germany. Previous accidents at the plant have allegedly been downplayed (3). In April 2017, a decree was published announcing the closing down of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (2). Now, in July 2017, for the first time, the French government has put  an actual number on planned nuclear reactor closures. It’s 17. The estimation was made by Environment Minister, Nicolas Hulot, a former environmental campaigner. While the reduction would achieve the same objective identified by the previous Hollande government — a 50% share from nuclear power, down from 75% by 2025 — it still represents a shift in approach, says Yves Marignac, director of WISE-Paris. “Hulot is the first Minister to come out with a number of reactors to shut down,” wrote Marignac. “Neither Hollande nor any of his prime ministers and environment ministers have ever dared to give such a number.” This reluctance was a tactic, Marignac said, to avoid angering EDF, trade unions and politicians.

Hollande's pronouncements about shutdowns were vague and non-committal with the closure of France's oldest commercial reactor, Fessenheim, perpetually delayed. Campaigners have agitated for years for the plant's closure, often in large demonstrations. (1) But for Hollande, voicing empty rhetoric to keep pro-nuclear foes at bay, was politically and strategically simpler than putting a number and a date on actual nuclear plant shutdowns.

Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, was an international nuclear salesman with no interest in ending French nuclear pre-eminence internationally. But now, with the virtual bankruptcy of Areva, and falsification scandals surrounding the forge it owns at Le Creusot -- which has manufactured what are now believed to be major safety components with serious technical flaws -- the French nuclear star is perhaps rapidly waning.  Marignac says the announcement can lead to the crucial next steps of identifying the reactors to be shut down and creating a real timeline and deadline for this to happen. Nicolas Hulot represents a real novelty. The situation is, Marignac says, “a huge opportunity” to accelerate the French energy transition, and those who support it should get firmly behind the initiative to push it through to fruition.

The Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant next to the Grand Canal d'Alsace and very near the German border is the oldest in service in France since 1977. Out of the 58 nuclear reactors that France has, 15 of them have crossed the 35-year mark.

The Fessenheim nuclear power reactor is the oldest of the lot approaching towards the end of its lifespan. In April 2017 the French government had issued a decree to cease power generation at the 1.800 MW Fessenheim reactor by April 2020.

The cost of dismantling plus the cost of keeping the nuclear waste will easily reach € 2000 million.