Eight activists entered the EDF facility grounds and set off fireworks on the morning of 12 October 2017 to highlight security vulnerabilities YouTube still

Eight activists entered the EDF facility grounds and set off fireworks on the morning of 12 October 2017 to highlight security vulnerabilities YouTube still

On the morning of 12 October 2017 eight activists entered the EDF facility grounds a few kilometres from the Luxembourg border and set off fireworks to highlight security vulnerabilities at the plant.

On Tuesday the Thionville criminal court issued the eight with prison sentences ranging from five months suspended to two months in jail. They were found guilty of “unlawful entry and causing damage inside a civil building containing nuclear materials.”

Greenpeace France managing director Jean-François Julliard appeared as representative for the NGO. He was fined €20,000.

“These heavy penalties are not acceptable for an organisation that has played the role of whistleblower. Greenpeace France will try to convince the Court of Appeal and will not stop denouncing the irresponsibility of EDF in nuclear security. Just as it will continue to participate in the institutional debate to demonstrate the fragility of EDF's nuclear facilities,” said Julliard in a statement.

After the October protest, there was another at the Ardèche (Cruas-Meysse) power plant in December 2017. MPs from the LREM political party introduced a resolution for the creation of a commission of inquiry into the safety of French nuclear power plants.

The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) meanwhile has asked EDF and the relevant authorities to learn from these actions. With 19 plants in operation, France remains a country with one of the largest nuclear parks in Europe.