Progress report of the French program, and basic design of the Jules Horowitz reactor

Since the SILOE reactor was shutdown on December 23, 1997, France has been entirely depending on the OSIRIS reactor to conduct the material and fuel irradiation programmes necessary to the evolution of its nuclear power plants and to prepare the future by analysing further reactor designs which might originate in other strategies, namely in the fuel cycle field. The Jules Horowitz reactor, which operation scheduled to start in 2006, will last 50 years, must cover all irradiation needs including, as far as possible, those related to fast breeder reactor studies, more particularly since the SUPERPHENIX reactor shutdown was announced. RJH reactor studies therefore focus on the increase of flux levels and the search for the limit performance of U3 Si2 based MTR fuels. (author)