CIt was in the din of the sounds of boots that died, Saturday, January 22, one of the most peaceful men on Earth. Thich Nhat Hanh was the most famous and influential Zen monk in the world. Poet of impermanence and mindfulness, he has conquered millions of followers from his village of plum trees in Périgord. But it has become increasingly difficult to stay calm these days in Europe. A major crisis is brewing in Ukraine and the specter of energy shortages hangs over the Old Continent.
A conflict there would have devastating consequences on its gas supply and would highlight what many do not want to see: nuclear power is essential to the European energy balance. Located in the heart of Europe, the French nuclear water tower is essential to the regulation of a system which primarily concerns its seven immediate neighbours: Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Great Britain. EDF is Europe’s leading electricity exporter and one of the largest on the planet.
Bad luck, in 2021, this fragile schedule has been upset. Like a perfect storm, climatic, geopolitical and technical events have aligned to cause an energy crisis from which we will not emerge soon. To the global shortage, which diverted part of the gas production to Asia, were added the tensions with Russia around Ukraine and, finally, the setbacks of EDF. There too, the emm… fly in squadrons, as Jacques Chirac said.
The cacophony sets in
This time, it is the technology that is in question. The endless slippage of the Flamanville site (Manche) is demonstrating that EPR technology was probably not the right choice to revive nuclear technology in the world. Too big, too complex, these cathedrals of concrete and steel accumulate hazards, including in China, the first country to have put them into production.
There are also serious maintenance problems which have led to the shutdown of five of the most powerful French reactors, with, again, the concern that the defects detected will be found on other copies of the fleet. As a result, at the very time when we need French electricity so much, its production has never been so low for thirty years. No wonder prices are skyrocketing.
To relieve citizens and businesses of an explosion in bills, the government is calling on EDF to contribute, asking it to bear part of the consumer subsidies. The electrician, who is finally starting to earn a lot of money with the rise in prices, protests and his employees are even considering a strike for Wednesday, January 26. Finally, some European countries want to ban nuclear power from the European list of investments necessary for the energy transition. The cacophony sets in and the miracle of mindfulness advocated by the little Vietnamese monk is not for tomorrow. Awakening will wait.