France wants to finance six EPR2 reactors with up to 60 billion euros from Livret A savings

The French government wants to use households' regulated savings to finance the new nuclear programme. The 2027 draft finance bill provides for the Caisse des dépôts savings fund, fed by the Livret A and the LDDS, to grant a loan covering up to 60% of the cost of six EPR2 reactors, capped at 60 billion euros, according to Le Monde de l'Energie and AFP.

What was decided. The loan would go to an EDF subsidiary, with a state guarantee set out in Article 69 of the draft budget. The state would cover interest during construction, and once the reactors are operating the borrower would pay a fixed rate of 3%. The reactors are planned at Penly (Seine-Maritime), Gravelines (Nord) and Bugey (Ain), and the first is expected to enter service around 2038. The 60 billion is a ceiling, not money already raised.

The ceiling. Separately, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on 3 November in the National Assembly that the Livret A ceiling will rise from 22,950 euros to between 25,000 and 30,000 euros from February, to finance the climate adaptation of public infrastructure; Matignon cites, among other things, electricity generation and networks. Finance Minister Roland Lescure is to set the exact amount. At the end of September, the French held 606.7 billion euros in the Livret A and LDDS, and the interest rate is 1.7%.

Context. A collective of left-wing elected officials, unions and associations, including Attac, France Nature Environnement and the CGT of the Caisse des dépôts group, called on 2 November for the scheme to be withdrawn, fearing reduced funding for social housing. LFI MP Maxime Laisney spoke of an "exorbitant blank cheque", while communist senator Fabien Gay supports the reactors but not their financing from the Livret A. The French Banking Federation considers that raising the ceiling "is not a good solution".

What comes next. Article 69 was scheduled for examination in the Assembly's finance committee on Wednesday, 4 November, and its adoption depends on the budget's passage through Parliament.

Real-time data for the country are on the country page