The French government has suffered a setback in the first reading of its controversial nuclear safety reform in the National Assembly. The deputies rejected the article of the bill that aimed to merge the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) into the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). The government may still resort to a second deliberation, but IRSN employees are cautious and remain mobilized.
The government’s proposal
The government wanted to merge the IRSN, a technical expert, with the ASN, the nuclear power plant watchdog, to “streamline the ASN’s examination and decision-making processes in response to the growing volume of activities related to the revival of the industry. This decision was made during a nuclear policy council around Emmanuel Macron on February 3. It was announced on February 8 and then introduced by a simple amendment adopted in committee in the Assembly.
The reaction of the opposition
The left protested against the “haste” of a “hasty” reform and called the proposal a “dismantling in rule”. It was supported by some voices of the majority, including the former minister Barbara Pompili. The Insoumise Aurélie Trouvé stressed that “we need this independence of research, within the IRSN”.
The MoDem party proposed a compromise amendment with a parliamentary monitoring committee for the reform, while the Republicans looked favorably on the merger, considering it as a guarantee of efficiency to “make procedures more fluid”. The Rassemblement National abstained, considering the subject “not completed”.
The decision to merge IRSN and ASN has been criticized for its lack of consultation and impact study. IRSN employees expressed their concern about the reform by organizing a third day of strike action to express their discontent.
The government can still use a second deliberation
Although the government suffered a setback in the first reading of its controversial nuclear safety reform, it can still resort to a second deliberation. In addition, the bill must continue its parliamentary shuttle, and the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, has proposed a second reading in the Senate given the importance of the subject.
