Public acceptance of nuclear energy in France: Some updated remarks

In 1994, several noteworthy industrial plant commissioning and other events took place on the French nuclear scene : e. g. the restart of Superphenix fast breeder, the commissioning of MELOX plutonium plant, the site selection process for two underground laboratories, the national public debate on the environmental aspects of energy policy and several provocative reports by ecologist associations. They might have revived public controversies or even strong opposition. In fact, the public debate remained essentially cool. As revealed by routine annual polls, public opinion in France remains remarkably stable or slightly more in favour of nuclear energy, even though the risks created by waste disposal remain overestimated by the public. It is proposed in this paper to investigate deeper into these still waters of the French opinion. Some determinants will be surveyed, including national culture, institutions and industrial policy. More particularly, the analysis will focus on the waste management issue. Among other questions, the positive influence of the French back-end policy on public perception will be emphasized