After France raised the cost of its Cigéo nuclear waste storage project to €33.3 billion, an increase of more than €8 billion, authorities are preparing to open a public inquiry into the plan – which has long faced opposition from anti-nuclear groups.
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The new estimated cost replaces a €25 billion figure set in 2016. It reflects updated costs and sits within a €26.1 to €37.5bn range set in May 2025 by the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, which is leading the project.
The government order, signed by Economy Minister Roland Lescure and Energy Minister Maud Brégeon, covers the entire lifespan of the site – from design and construction to operation and closure – over 151 years.
It puts the initial construction cost at €9.74 billion. Taxes linked to the project are estimated at €3.66 billion.
The revised estimate will be used as a reference by EDF, Orano and the Atomic Energy Commission, the three nuclear operators that fund the project under the “polluter pays” principle.
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Deep underground
Cigéo is designed to store France’s most radioactive nuclear waste 500 metres underground at a site in Bure in eastern France. The site would hold 10,000 cubic metres of high-activity waste and 73,000 cubic metres of long-lived medium-activity waste produced by nuclear power plants.
When the cost was first set at €25 billion in 2016, based on earlier economic conditions, campaigners said it was “largely underestimated”.
The National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management filed a formal request for authorisation in January 2023. A final government decision is not expected before late 2027 or early 2028.
French media reports said the public inquiry had initially been planned for autumn and was still expected in early December when the ASNR, France’s nuclear safety and radiation watchdog, issued its final opinion on the construction authorisation request.
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Race against the calendar
Speaking at a meeting of public inquiry commissioners in Euville on Thursday, Meuse prefect Xavier Delarue said the public inquiry would begin on 18 May.
He said around 50 elected officials had been consulted before the schedule was brought forward, with a strong response rate and 75 percent of the opinions returned favourable.
“There was every reason to launch the public inquiry,” he said.
Three commissioners, along with three alternates, have been appointed to examine the roughly 10,000-page file.
They will produce a report, which the agency must respond to by the end of the summer. “In September, I will write an overall report and send it to the ministry,” Delarue said.
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Opposition pushback
Nine environmental organisations have criticised the decision and called for the consultation to be delayed.
In a joint statement, groups including Greenpeace France, France Nature Environnement and the Nuclear Phase-Out Network denounced “an unacceptable new attempt to push the project through” and said the file does not show that the project would be feasible and safe.
They also said the timetable reflects an electoral aim, with the goal of approving Cigéo before next year’s presidential election.
(with newswires)
