JPRS ID: 9769 WEST EUROPE REPORT MITTERRAN, S FRANCE: PROPOSALS AND PROSPECTS FOR A SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT

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• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000400060008-3
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• Document Creation Date: November 1, 2016
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• Content Type: REPORTS

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- JPR~ L/10031
- 6 October 1981
Worldwide Re ort
p
= NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION
(FOUO 1 1 /81)
- FBIS FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
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JPRS.L/10031
6 October 1981
~ WORLDWIDE REPORT
NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION
(FOUO 11/81)
CONTENTS
~.ATIN AMERICA
BRAZIL
U.S. Break ~f Nuclear Fuel Contract Feared
(LATIN AMERICA DAILY POST, 29 Aug $1) 1
- CUBA
Nuclear Technology Developments Discussed
(BOHEMIA, 31 Jul 81) 3
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
LIBYA ~
"
'Unusually Large' Uranium Purchases Noted
(THE TIMES, 29 Aug 81) 10
- WEST EUROPE
~ FRANCE
- Nuclear Program Seen Continuing in Spite of Opposition
- (Jacques Mornand; LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR, 8 Aug 81) 11
- a - [III - WW - 141 FOUO]
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BRAZIL
U.S. BREAK OF NUCLEAR FUEL CONTRACT FEARED
PY310045 Rio de Janeiro LATIN AMERICA DAILY POST in English 29 Aug 81 p 1
- [Text] Brasilia (DAILY POST)--The United States may break a contract to supply
enriched uranium fuel for Brazil's first atomic power station if Brazil refuses
to pennit i.nternational inspection of nuclear installations, a d:Lplomatic sour.ce
- sa id .
Commenting on news reports that Washington has "ihreatened" to cut supplies, the
source said, "You can say that there have been contacts between the two govern-
' ments, and that the subject is under discussion."
Other sources close to the Brazilian nuclear power program told the ESTADO DE SAO
PAULO newsPaper that Brazil, foreseeing possible diff iculty in supplies from the
United States, had already negot~~ted fall-back urani~ supplies from the British-
Dutch-German URINCO consortium.
Brazil's first nuclear reactor, built by the North American Westinghouse Company,
is due to start operatior~al testing sometime in the next 2 months using 50 tons
of enrich.ed uranium already supplied by the Ur~ited States.
Arguments now are about fuel to restock the reactor when its first charge is
burned out in 3 years, the diplomatic source s~id.
0 ESTADO DE SAO PAULO said U.S. officials had raised the subject with Brazil last
week but gave no details of who made the contact. According to tYre paper the
differences are "legalistic but serious" and could 1Qad to a wider breach in
relations.
_ Washington is insisting that a 1972 treaty with Brazil, which includes the Inter-
national Atomic Energy Agency, should apply to all Brazilian nuclear facilities
while Brazil says the treaty covers on.ly equipment and material received directly
from the United States, the newspaper said.
In addition to its first Westinghouse reactor, Brazil is now building up to eight
more nuclear power stations and a fuel reprocessor as part of a multi-bil'lion
dollar deal with West Germany.
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Brazil is not a member of the IAEA and does not accept agency control over its
nuclear program. An acceptance of this control or its equivalent, the paper
said, would include submitting reports on the approximately 100 tons of non-
enriched uranium Brazil has stockpiled.
The Brazilian Government recently der.ied news reports that it had secretly shipped
eight tons of enriched uranium, produced from this stock, to Iraq f~~ use in
the reactor which was later bombed by Israel.
CSO: 5100/2319
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CUBA
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS DISCUSSED
_ Havana BOHEMIA in Spanish 31 Jul 81 pp 8-13
[Text] At the Novovoronezh nuclear ~owerplant built 17 years ago in the central
Soviet Union, a poster mounted over the entrance to the turbine room announces,
in bold letters: "Let the atom be a worker and not a soldier!"
The phrase engraved there bears witness to the iact that just as at other power-
plants in the great country of Lenin, the Soviets work here with feverish enthusiasm
on the application of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The scientists in the USSR are convinced and the highest leaders of the party
and the government so proclaim that if not all, at least a large share of mankinc;
will disappear from the face of the earth if the blind, brutal forces of the capi-
talist reactionaries and imperialism dare, with irresponsible determination, to set
off atomic bombs.
The peaceful policy aimed at elimina[ing or substantially limiting atomic weapons,
= if we want life to cont~nue on our planet, has beez~ ignored by the.capitalist
- powers, mainly the United States, contrary to the appeals for peace made by the
- Soviet Union and repeated warnings from the chairman of the Supre~e Soviet, Leonid
Brezhnev, that the atom should be used for the good of, not to the detriment of,
mankind.
Cuba Before and After 1959
In "La Historia Me Absolvera" [History Will Absolve Me], Fide1 reminded us that
"everyone agre~s that the need for industrialization of the country is urgent, that
we need metallurgical industries, chemical industries, paper industries, "but the
government stands idly by and industrialization never comes."
After the Revolution overthrew the old political~ecronomic-social structure, Cuba
began a new life and embarked upon the path of progressive alternatives, which
could not fail to include agrarian reform, nationalization of the monopolies that
exploited workers and farmers, and industrialization.
_ Befure 1959, did we even have enough thermoelectric potential to embark upon that
urgent and far-reaching undertaking?
Absolutely, positively not!
a
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As part of its broad range of constructive plans, the Revolution undertook national
electrification and took electric power to the most remote rural regions of the
country, where previously, th~ people had only known the traditional kerosene lamp
or the typical native chismosita.
At the same time this extremely important source of energy was heing developP.d,
large industrial complexes were cropping up in all regions of~Cuba, complexes that.
necessarily operate with electricity, and the raw material that moves tnis powerful
machinery day and night is expensive and has to be imported.
Cuba does not have its own fossil fuels such as oil or coal, nor does it have large,
powerful rivers that would provide it with water power to meet its future energy
needs. Our country has no other alternative than to develop nuclear energy, which
will meet the growing demand and which today, with the price of oil, is more econo-
mical than traditional sources.
In his address summarizing the events commemorating the seventh anniversary of
- the defeat of Yankee imperialism at the Ray of Pigs, Fidel said, in April 1968:
"When man discovered the energy contained in the atom, he discovered a source of
energy capable of supplying the unlimited future needs of mankind. Atomic power,
which mankind first came to know as an instrument of war and destruction, is at
the same time the only solution of mankind in the fu.ture.
"Consequently, any country that has any foresight and that looks to the future
has to think about the generation of electric power using nuclear energy. Our
country cannot continue to build more and more electric powerplants based on oil.
Once we have completed the current program to set up thermoelectric powerplants,
we shall have to think about facilities that use atomic energy.
"That is why," Fidel said, "our Revolution is already recr~iLing outstanding stu-
dents to study nuclear physics and become the engineers who will operate this
type of plant. This is one of the issues of most interest to the world today."
_ Nuclear Science and Technology
Not only at the nuclear powerplants are the nuclear science and technology for
peaceful purposes applied. They are also utilized for the production of radio
isotopes and in many branches of tha economy. In medicine, agriculture and
industry, as well as in physics, chemistry and biomedical research, we find
various us~s.
Specific examples of its appl~cations include the following: determination of
s~il moisture, the volume of rivers, the calcium and potassium content of grass
and milk, densities and levels of industrial processes, mineral composition, the
conservation of food by irradiation, and geological prospecting (exploration).
In medicine, nuclear techniques are used for the treatment and diagnosis of dif-
- ferent diseases, the sterilization of surgical equipment, and the creation of
ideal conditions in which microorganisms that produce antibiotics must live, so
as to improve productivity, and so on.
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Institute of Nuclear Physics (ININ)
This Insk.itute, since 1974 known as the Nuclear Research Institute, was established
- with the fraternai, valuable help�of the Soviet Union and as the culmination of
the work done by the Nuclear Energy Group of the Cuban Academy of Science. It
_ opened in January i969.
Beginning on that date, with the advice of Soviet specia:lists, Cuba embarked upon
the task of putting nuclear sciences on a scientific footing in our country. We
would also have university graduates in radiochemistry, dosimetry, nuclear reactors
and radiological protection, trained at the Moscow State University.
At the same time and without interruption, the training of Cuban technical and
scientific cadres continued at various centers and institutions in the Soviet
Union.
Along with the incorporation of the first graduates in the USSR, Cuba intensified
activities to give advanced training to the personnel that would fundamentally be
responsible for work and research. In 1971, the number of workers at the Institute
increased significantly with the entry of a group of physics and chemistry graduates
who had completed their education at the University of Havana.
At the same time we planned for new work, we strengthened cooperation between the
National Nuclear Research Insti*ute and the State Committee for the Use of Atomic
Energy from the USSR, including the signing of new agreements on advice and the
visits of Cubans to Soviet nuclear centers. Regarding international relations,
they were established and have been maintained since the founding of the
Institute, especially with the International Atomic Energy Organization under the
LTnited Nations, with headquarters in Vienna, the G~ba-USSR Unified Nuclear Research
- Institute, the Sossendorf Central Institute in the ~erman Democratic Republic,
and the CEMA Permanent Committee for the Peaceful Use of Atomic Energy.
Cienfuegos Powerplant
Fulfilling the energetic plans of the Cuban Government and as a result of the enthu-
siastic cooperation of our Soviet brothers, the agreements for the construction in
Cuba of the first nuclear powerplant were signed.
Talks began in Moscow in 1974. At that time, the agency involved was the Ministry
of the Electrical Industry and later, the Academy of Sciences, the ministries of
Public Health, Mining and Interior and other gover~ment organizations came to parti-
cipate. Two years later, research began for the location of the site in the central
area of the island.
"Why in the central region?" we asked engineer Alfonso Afont Pifat, deputy director
of the First Nuclear Powerplant Budgeted I?zvestment Unit of the Ministry of Basic
Industry.
"The reason is the requirements of our national electric power system," Afont
explained. "There is obvious industrial development in the central region of Cuba.
The area chosen meets, the hydrological, geological and other needs."
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"What is the main difference between a thermonuclear powerplant and the plants
in use today?" we asked.
"A thermonuclear powerplant is a plant that generates electric power, like those
at Mariel, Rente and Cienfuegos. The difference lies in the fact that its main
- source of energy is the process of nuclear fission, which replaces the burning of
oil."
"What is �ission?"
"It is a type of reaction in which the neutron from a source emitting neutrons or
from a przvious fission strikes a uranium nucleus, which divides (splits) into two
light nuclei. In this reaction, a large quantity of energy is given off.
"Uranium (nuclear fuel) is a cheaper and safer source. Our solution lies in build-
ing plants that gen~rate electric power by using this radioactive element, b~t for
this, we need a substantial number of highly skilled specialists. A plant ot this
type requires the services of many high- and intermediate-level technicians. At
_ both levels, most personnel will need complete nuclear training."
High-level personnel now receive training at the School of Nuclear. Science and
Technology of the University of Havana and at specialized institutes in the USSfi.
The rest of the personnel for the powerplant includes graduates of the country's
university centers, where additional training is raceived.
Intermediate-level personnel will be trained at the Cienfuegos Nuclear Polytechnical
- School, which will be set up in September of this year, with the beginning of the
1981-1982 school year, where skilled workers will also be trained.
The polytechnical school is being built near the site where the thermonuclear
powerplant will be and at the present time, final touches are being put on the large,
modern building by workers from the Industrial Projects Construction Enter~rise
No 6, which will also build the powerplant.
With the beginning of this school year in the new faciTities of the polytechnical
school, the students will study intermediate-level nuclear technology and interme-
diate-level automatic control. Graduates of this center will fi~st go to the Jura-
gua powerplant. This includes technicians as wzll.as skilled wgr~Cers. Al1 working
_ personnel will receive the indispensable training in thermonucl~ea~ technology. In
addition, every worker must study and pass the standards of radiological protection
and work safety for this type of plant.
The polytechnical school has seven laboratories: physics, nuclear physics, auto-
matic control, metals, chemistry and biology, chemical analysis, electronics and
electrical engineering. It has six shops: assembly, operation and steam generator
and reactor repair, dosimetry, electronuclear powerplants,, central assistance and
reagent protection, languages. There wiZl be five s~enior teaching posts.
Like all centers of study that the Revolution has built and continues to build for
intermediate-level education, this school has its administration, teaching admin-
istration, meeting room, files, administration of nuclear activities, foreign
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technical assistance office, theater, student dorm"itories, faculty dormitories,
recreation and living rooms, clinic, barbershop and beauty salon, kitchen, dining
room, green space and playing fields.
Anatoli Cherbakov, Soviet electromechanical engineer who has been responsible for
the setting up of the laboratories, offices and workshops of this plant as well
as of the Armando Garcia Aspuru Energy Polytechnical Schc,ol in Santiago de Cuba,
told us:
"I have been in Cuba for 3 years. I like this country very much; the Cubans are
very friendly and bro:herly. It is a pleasure to work with them, whether they
be construction workers or professors. They are all happy, enthusiastic, hard-
working and content. The students are magnificent. They are already reaping the
fruits from the S~qtiago polytechnical school. These young people are very good
technicians and they will be very useful in the field of electric power."
Comrade Cherbakov talked to us in Spanish about our customs, the fun-loving nature
of the Cubans, and he expressed his regret over leaving Cuba so soon even though
his work contract has been completed.
"I have been very happy in Cuba. I am grateful for all the attention I have re-
ceived, but I want to say that with the same willingness that I have come to this
- beautiful country, the first free territory in America, I would go to Ethiopia,
Angola, Nicaragua or wherever my cooperation is needed. We communists practice
proletarian internationalism with true pleasure because this is part of our
Marxist-Leninist education."
S de Septiembre Polytechnical School ~
We visiteri the 5 de Septiembre Polytechnical School in Cienfuegos, where we were
welcomed by Director Francisco Mendez and other members of the board of directors.
We were informed about the progress of students beginning their studies in nuclear
technology. They and a group enrolled at another polytechnical school will make up
the class of the new polytechnical school that will open in September.
"There is no lack of difficulties," the director told us, "but they are being
resolved. These young people are very promising."
We were able to talk at length with several students, al.l of whom expressed the
importance of the career~they have chosen. Orestes Morales, one of the most enthu-
siastic, said he was convinced that "energy 'is a fundamental branch for our coun-
- try's economy. Cuba needs to develop its industries," he said, "and to create
many more. For this purpose, we need large amounts of electric power, which can
only be obtained from nucl~ar powerplants."
"What does this career mean to you?" we asked him.
"For me, it means a great deal. I like the field of energy. I visited the Carlos
Manuel de Cespedes Thermoelectric Powerplant to see its operation because Aearly
all of its machinery is like that of a thermonuclear plant. The difference is the
reactors."
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University of Havana
It is not widel}r known that at the University of H~vana, the School of Nuclear
Science and Technology trains high-level specialists in nuclear energy.
Dean Jose Roig told us that the graduates will work at the Juragua Powerplant
and will teach at the school or do research for the ININ.
He continued:
"Although our school will begin its operations thi.s year, nuclear energy was al-
ready being taught at the Jose Antonio Echeverria Advanced Polytechnical School.
- That is why we have students at all le~els in the field. In July, we shall hav~e a
- new class of engineers graduating in nuclear energy. The school has connections
with the Research Institute and with the Ministry of Basic Industry in the -~rea of
teaching and in research. Students practice or do research for the national ~enter-
prises, as do the professors."
Personnel
To use a phrase in vogue, Cuba already has a number of duly qualified technicians,
some working for the thermonuclear powerplant. The first group o~' Cuban engiflee~s
went to the Soviet Un.ion in 1971 to receive postgraduate training itl,.Moscow~ They
worked at the Novovoronezh Powerplant. In 1973, another group of univexsity grad-
_ uates studied at the same centers. They all had some background in quclear energy
that they obtained in Cuba. In 1975, more graduates went.
Those specializing in the USSR are working for the Projects Enterprise of the Minis-
try of Basic Industry, in tne central office5 of that ministry, in the Juragua
Budgeted Investment Unit and at the University of Havana.
"There is a fourth group," Daniel Calcagno, a thermonuclear technician, told us,
"made up of comrades who in February ccmpieted their special training at the Moscow
Energy Institute. They completed'thermophysics for S years. Previously, they had
had preparatory studies and Russian in Cuba for 1 year. In May, several members
of the group joined the Juragua Budgeted Unit."
There we had the opportunity to meet with engineers Miguel A. Perez Jardines and
Luis Angel Medina Ramos. Both decided to give us a single response to our questions.
They told us:
"Our group was made up of comrades who had belonged to the Nuclear Physics Interest
Club of the Lenin Vocational School. We met because of our interest in the field
and were lucky enough to have the help of a highly trained professor who had studied
in the USSR. His classes prepared us for the activity to which we would finally
devote ourselves. There were plans coordinated between Iconsomol and the UJC
[Union of Young Communists]. Upon our return, we went into production. We are
anxious to serve science, technology and the Revolution wherever we would be most
useful, but we believe that it is here, in Juragua, where we must begin our work."
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Training
The training of Cuban specialists in this f~_~ld of unlimited.possibilities moves
steadily forward. Through the signing of an agreement with a Study and Training
Center at the Novovoronezh Powerplant,. personnel will be trained for operations,
laboratory work and maintenance. T_he first group will begin its training at tha
end of this year. Others will leave for Novo~~oronezh in 1982.
Electrical engineers from the Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Thermoelectric P.owerplant
with some background in nuclear energy have been chosen to take a course in theory
and practice in the Soviet Union lasting 1 year. We talked with a number of them
and they all agreed that the trip will complete their professional training. The
knowledge they acquire will be very beneficial when, on their return, they go to
work for the first nuclear powerplant in Cuba.
COPYRIGHT: BOHEMIA 1981
11,464
CSO: 5100/2322
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LIBYA
'UNUSUALLY LARGE' URANIUM PURCHASES NOTED
- PM311442 London THE TIMES in English 29 Aug 81 p 4
[Dispatch "from our correspondent": "Libya Buys Uranium Secretly"]
[Text] Paris, 28 Aug--Libya has bought unusually large amounts of uranium in the
first half of this year from Niger, the West African producer, leading to specula-
tion that it is acting for other Arab countries with more advanced nuclear
capac~i~ ies ,
In the first half of 1981, Libya has bought 1,212 tons of uranium from Niger, three
times as much as in the whole of 1980, accord ing to official figures published
yesterday in the Niger capital, Niamey.
What need Tripoli can have of such quantities is obscure since Libya has only a
small, Soviet-supplied research reactor which uses small amounts.
Sources said it was possible that part af the total given by the Niger authorities
was accounted for by deliveries made last year and not recorded immediately. But
even the total announced for 1980--380 tons-~ras large for a country w:Lth Libya's
limited requirements.
Experts ~.n Paris suggested that Libya might b e selling the uranium to other countries,
such as Iraq, which bought 100 tons of uranium from Niger in the first half of this
- year. Pakistan and Syria were two other ~oss ible final destinations mentioned.
Niger's deliveries to Libya in the first half of the year were half as much as was
sold to France. But they made Libya Niger's second biggest customer ahead of Japan
~ which took 816 tons and Spain which received 300 tons.
Libyan purchases of uranium from Niger stood at 150 tons in 1979, rose to 380 tons
last year, and then bounded ahead this year.
COPYRIGHT: Times Newspapers Limited, 1981
CSO: 5100/2329
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FRANCE
NUCLEAR PRO~RAM SEEN CONTINUTNG TN SPITE OF OPPOSITION
Paris LE NOWEL OSSERVATEUR in ~'rench 8 Aug 81 p 30
[Article by Jacques Mornand7
- IText] The ~reeze on the construction of five nuclear power plants,
decided on at the l~st council of ministers session on 30 July, has
been very badly received. It was too much, in the opinion of some
~ people, and too little, according to others.
The environmentalists consider these measures inadequate. They even
use the word "treason," since the construction of the Nogent-sur-
, Seine (Aulie department) and Penly (Seine-Maritime) power plants, the
enlargement of tfie wastE reprocessing center at La Hague, and the
start of construction of the Creys-Malville breeder reactor will
, continue. Tfie CFDT IFrench Democratic Confederation of Labor] uses
approximatel~y~ tfie same ter~s.
- On the otfier side, the othe-r union~, the CGZ' [General Confederation
of Labor] , tfie FO jWorkers ~'orce] , and t~ie CFTC jFrench Confederation
o~ Cfiristian Workers] , alang with the Communist Party, have unequi-
- vocally denounced this "abandoning of the policy of national energy
independence." They fear that the decreased activity in the nuclear
sector will further worsen unemployment. At the sites where work
- has been halted, the workers whose jobs are threatened continue to
demonstrate noisily. Fears are sharpest in Lorraine. At Cattenom
(Moselle department), during the weekend which marked the start of
the traditional August vacation period, angry workers blocked the
hi,ghway leading into Selgium, causing a mc~nstrous traffic jam 30
kilometers long.
These reactions show that the national debate about our entire
nuclear policy, scheduled for the fall in compliance with Francois
Mitterrand's campaign promises, will be a heated one.
In reality, the steps taken by the government on 30 July are
symbolic and con~ervative in nature. The slowdown which was called
for might be of a very short duration. There is really nothing
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�
irreversihle ahout i.t. Tt indicates that the government does not
want to dec~iie in advance tfie outcome o~ the debate that will be
held oder tfi.e next seve~al weeks in parliament and in regional and
depart-mental ass~mbli:es. There tfi.e parties, unions, environmental
groups, etc. will Fiave to decide---quite rapidly, it seems--before
the final decision whic~:inay or may not challenge the vast nuclear
program begun during tfie a~ninistration of Pierre Messmer in 1974,
at the time of the first oil crisis.
_ Controlling the Gas Pipeline
_ In the debate which is about to start, the government of Pierre
Mauroy will not be neutral. It will introduce a bill that is now
being drafted. The criteria included are: the prospects of economic
growth and energy consumption, independence, and the decentralization
of programs. However, the final preparation of this bill is a sen-
sitive matter. First of all, because even inside the PS [Socialist
Party], tfiere are digferent groups; supporters and opponents of
nuclear developpnent clash tfiere ~ust as they do all over the coun-
try. Furthermore, the room for maneuver of the minister of energy,
Edmond Her~e, is limited. Tn fact, the situation of_ our country,
which lacks essential energy resources, will not let us do just
anything. Any cutback in our nuclear program will have to be bal-
- anced by an increase in same supply source or by equivalent energy
= savings.
Petroleum
- Despite the slump in the world petrole~,un market right now and the
reduced prices� offered by producers, the price per barrel is con-
tinuing to rise, because of the increase in the dollar, the reference
currency. So the price gor super gasoline in early August just
went o~rer 4 fr_ancs per liter.
Coal
Even though ~rench coal is expensive, the government is thinking of
increasing its production. Production should reach about 30 million
- tons in 19~0, compared with about 20 tons in 1980. For th~ 1982 bud~
get, the Charbonnages de France (French Coal Mines) investments will
~ be increasad by 42.70 percent in relation to 1981.
Gas
Investments �or the French Gas Company are being increased 25.9
percent next year. But tfiis will affect storage and distribution
facilities. It will not crive us one cubic meter more of gas of
French orig3n. Production at the Lacq field has reached a plateau
and will decline significantly in the future. Then we will have
to import more and more gas from Algeria and from the Soviet Union.
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A laig contract with the USSR has heen ~.n the negotiation phase
for months now~, jointly~ witfi some other countries, including
Germany. Snt tFiere is a security problem involved here. Tn case
of a crisis, wfiat would fiappen if Moscow decided to turn off the
' tap of the pipeline? Washington is sending out warning after warn-
j ing on this issue. But Francois Mitterrand seems to have come
i around to the point of view of Helmut Schmidt, who favors this
_i
proj ect .
I Renewable Energy Resources
~ 5olar, biomass, wind and tidal power should, according to Francois
Mitterrand, supply 10 percent of our energy needs between now and
the year 2000; this percentage is significantly higher than what
had been planned earlier.
Savings
Lf~ort~ in tfiis area have to be increased. But it will be an
expensi:ve procPSS, because the savings that are easy havz already
been done. So now we will Fiave to invest more than before to ob-
tain comparable results. However, energy savings do offer one
- major advantage: saving energy creates jobs (insulating buildings,
regulating heating, etc.).
Considering t~e variety of economic and political necessities
~acing it, tfie Mauroy goverrrment will probably have to choose a
middle of the road course between the "all nuclear" approach favored
by~Ga:sc~rd and EDF jFrencfi Electricity Company] and the "no" to
nnclear power of tfie envirornnentalists. He might slow down the
long~term program, considering tfie expected decline in the rate
of growtfi of electricity usage. But he will probably decide to
continue work in progress wherever it is well underway already.
Whetfier we like it or not, we will probably have 45 nuclear power
plants operating in 1987. They could then supply 60 percent of
France's electric power.
Stopping this program cold would have incalculable financial
consequences and would cause tens of thousands of jobs to be elimi-
nated. In spite o~' everything that could be done to save energy
and fio use renewable energy resources, this would still mean an in-
crease in our petroleum exports. And at the price of oil today,
whowould dare suggest such a program to the French people?
COPYRTGHT: 1981 "Le Nouvel Observateur"
- 7679
CSO: 5100/2306 E~
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