Europe has plenty of shale gas but refuses to exploit it. Nuclear was stopped or even dismantled. There is such a lack of strategic thinking that at some point the only logical conclusion is that we like to suffer and to lose.
> Or that our political and media class are captured...
Yes, obviously that's the case, however it goes beyond that. I still vividly remember how in high school they taught us persistently how bad nuclear power is for the environment. And TBH for a very long time, I actually believed it. A lot of people in Germany never stopped believing it. At this point we have to admit to ourselves that the "Green"'s are a political ideology with good slogans, but ultimately contrary to their own messaging it is: pro-war, anti-worker, anti-independence, and generally just a basket to capture anti-empire sentiment to redirect them towards supporting it.
Under Hollande, France swung in an anti-nuclear direction, with plans to reduce nuclear power down to 50 percent of the energy mix, fuelled by the post-Fukushima panic. When Emmanuel Macron took power in 2017, he was still committed to this target and closed down Fessenheim in 2020, despite calls from pro-nuclear groups to extend its life.
Following the surge in energy prices triggered by the Ukraine War, France reversed course yet again.
Again, dragging up the past. Fine, let's exclude 2020. 2021-2022 was more of a turning point. Your comment doesn't refute my point, a point which does refute the point I was replying to.
I would really recommend listening to discussion with Mark Nelson, managing director of Radiant Energy Group, about the state of the French nuclear power industry.
"Something's Rotten with French Nuclear"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isgu-VrD0oM
You have not refuted anything. I have replied to your claims... why you would want to deny reality? Strange.
In addition, nuclear energy policy and developments is measured in decades not sungle years. My point remains. France is struggling to revive its nuclear energy programme...
