The French nuclear power plants are important for the security of supply of Europe and Switzerland. France is predominantly an electricity exporter. Over 70% of the electricity produced in France comes from nuclear power plants. Currently, 56 nuclear reactors are in operation in France with an electrical output of over 60,000 MW. Due to its size, the unavailability of the French nuclear energy park immediately affects the whole of Europe.

In France, too, the nuclear power plants have to be regularly maintained. Accordingly, shutdowns are planned again and again, which reduce the available output of the plants in the production park. Also, particularly high temperatures and drought can have an impact on production, as cooling bottlenecks can occur. For example, rivers may not carry enough cool water. In addition, unplanned outages occur time and again despite careful maintenance. The graphs show the planned and unplanned shutdowns accordingly.