Henri Proglio, chief executive of EDF which operates 58 nuclear reactors across France, compared his business with air travel when asked by French radio RTL whether the threat of uncontrolled radiation leaks from earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors in Japan marked a failure for the global industry.
“This is a difficult situation for an industry, whichever industry it is. But not every single plane accident translates into issues for the whole plane industry,” he said.
Proglio, speaking for the first time since Friday’s earthquake, said EDF was ready to send technical and support teams to help Japan face the world’s biggest nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
Proglio also said Germany’s decision to close seven ageing nuclear power plants was “purely political.”
In contrast with neighbor Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the suspension of her nuclear energy policy, France has signalled it would not pull the plug on its nuclear industry, one of the country’s key exports.
On Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly praised the safety of the French nuclear technology during a meeting with leaders of its UMP center-right ruling party.
On Wednesday, energy minister Eric Besson said France would only sell next-generation nuclear reactors built by state-controlled Areva. This is mainly the 1,650 megawatt EPR reactor, four of which are under construction: one in Finland; another in France; and two in China.
