France could close a third of nuclear reactors: Minister

France could close a third of nuclear reactors: MinisterParis: France's new environment minister said on Monday nearly a third of the country's reactors could be shut under plans to scale back the amount of electricity produced from nuclear power. In 2015, the previous Socialist-dominated parliament passed a law obliging the government to reduce the proportion of electricity generated from nuclear power from around 75% to 50 per cent by 2025.

"We can all understand that to reach this target, we're going to have to close a certain number of reactors," Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said. "It will be perhaps as high as 17 reactors, but we need to look into it." Hulot, a celebrity environmentalist, was named as minister for ecological transition in the first government of 39-year-old centrist President Emmanuel Macron, elected in May. France has 58 nuclear reactors operated by state-owned EDF, which produces some of the lowest-cost electricity in Europe.