Overview

• The contract commits to the construction of six new EPR2 reactors with two units each planned at Penly, Gravelines and Bugey and the first scheduled to begin operation in 2038.
• It establishes four strategic pillars—industrial performance and safety, skills development, small modular reactor innovation and ecological transition—to guide the sector through 2028.
• Financing terms include a state-guaranteed price cap of €100 per megawatt-hour for nuclear power and a preferential loan covering at least 50% of the estimated €67.4 billion to €79.9 billion EPR2 cost.
• The pact foresees the creation of 100,000 jobs over the next decade to strengthen workforce capacity and technical expertise across the nuclear industry.
• By reversing the previous 2020 energy plan’s target to close 14 reactors, the deal underscores France’s renewed focus on energy independence and decarbonisation.