France unveils energy program with 14 new nuclear reactors and reduced wind targets

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu presented a multi‑year energy program covering the period 2025‑2035. The program includes construction of fourteen new nuclear reactors. It also calls for increasing the output of existing reactors and extending their operating life beyond sixty years. At least one novel small modular reactor is slated to begin operation in the early 2030s. The wind‑power target is set at fifteen gigawatts of installed capacity by 2035, reduced from the eighteen gigawatts announced in the previous plan. The government says it will prioritize upgrading existing wind farms to boost capacity and lower visual impact rather than building new sites. Solar capacity is targeted at forty‑eight gigawatts by 2030 and between fifty‑five and eighty gigawatts by 2035, a slowdown compared with earlier plans. The program aims for low‑carbon energy to supply sixty percent of final consumption by 2030, with carbon neutrality intended by mid‑century. Success is linked to changes in energy use, including a shift to electric vehicles and electrification of industrial processes, according to the government.