French protestors swing from pylons at Flamanville nuclear plant

Paris (Platts)--16Apr2007

Protesting against the building of a nuclear reactor pilot, the European
pressurized reactor, French anti-nuclear campaigners spent the weekend
suspended from a 400,000 volt high tension power pylon at the Flamanville
nuclear power plant, campaigners said.
Three activists scaled a pylon next to the 2600 MW capacity plant in
Normandy, north France on Saturday afternoon displaying huge banners which
read "STOP EPR". Two of the protestors remained suspended from the pylon in
hammocks right through the weekend until midnight Sunday when they ended their
protest, anti-nuclear group Sortir du nucleaire said Monday.
The protest was also against the building of a new high tension power
link that would accompany the new EPR, which the French government last week
gave Electricite de France the go ahead to start building at Flamanville at
the end of the year, the group said.
The protest forced French grid manager RTE to cut power to the 400,000 volt
pylon, according to Sortir du nucleaire, but operations at the Flamanville
facility were not affected, the plant said Monday. Neither RTE nor EDF were
immediately available to comment.
More than 60,000 people marched in France March 17 against the plan to
build a 1,650 MW capacity EPR at Flamanville, campaigners said.