CHERBOURG, France — More than 10,000 French activists marched in silence to honor victims of the Chernobyl disaster 20 years ago, part of a larger protest denouncing France's plans to build more nuclear reactors.

Environmentalists gathered Saturday in the rain in the northern port city of Cherbourg, near the site where nuclear-dependent France plans to build the first in a new generation of nuclear power plants. Several protesters held up a sign that read simply "non."

The new type of plant is billed as more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly than current models. However, French environmental activists argue that nuclear power is inherently dangerous, and say the development of a new generation of plants will slow the search for alternative energy sources.

France is the only European country that continued making new nuclear plants after the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl disaster.

It is also the most nuclear-dependent country in the world, with 59 reactors churning out nearly 80 percent of its electricity. About 30 of the aging reactors will be in need of replacement starting around 2020 -- which is where the new generation of plants comes in.

Activists in Cherbourg observed 15 minutes of silence at the start of the march, organized by the group Sortir du Nucleaire. Later, they lay down on the ground as sirens blared to simulate a nuclear accident.

In front of the local office of power utility Electricite de France, demonstrators piled up hundreds of cans, symbolizing nuclear waste.

Police said 10,000 people marched, while organizers put the figure at 30,000. Protesters came from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Prominent French figures included anti-globalization activist Jose Bove, Green Party lawmaker Noel Mamere and two former environment ministers, Dominique Voynet and Corinne Lepage.

"Twenty years after Chernobyl, it's time to remember that we are not protected from a catastrophe, that the French nuclear infrastructure is aging, and that today we are going to stretch out its life expectancy, which is dangerous," Mamere said.

The new plant in Flamanville, near Cherbourg, is expected to enter service around 2012. If it is acceptable, a series of similar plants could be built and put into service by 2020.

Source: Associated Press