REP 2000, the next generation of EDF's nuclear reactors

In 1970, after 15 years dedicated to developing a reactor system burning natural uranium, France adopted the pressurised water reactor, which uses slightly enriched uranium. During the first and second oil crises of 1973 and 1978, the public authorities established an ambitious objective for Electricite de France (EDF) and the French energy industry: a 50 per cent reduction in France's energy dependency by 1990. The only way to reach this objective was to increase the ratio of electricity to other energy sources and to generate 75 per cent of that electricity with nuclear power. (author)