The group cited by AFP argued that although this trade was legalit was “immoral” as many countries seek to tighten sanctions against the Russian government over the invasion launched in 2022.
Greenpeace members filmed about 10 containers with radioactive labels being loaded onto a cargo ship in the English Channel port of Dunkirk on Saturday.
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According to Greenpeace, the Panamanian-registered ship Mikhail Dudin is regularly used to transport enriched or natural uranium from France to Saint Petersburg. However, Saturday's shipment was the first in three years to see processed uranium, the organization added.
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“It is not illegal, but immoral” – Pauline Boyer, head of Greenpeace France's nuclear campaign, told AFP. “France should break off contracts with Rosatom, the state-owned company that has occupied the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia for three years.“- she added.
EDF's multi-year agreement with Rosatom
French state energy giant Electricite de France (EDF) signed a 600 million euro ($700 million) contract in 2018 with Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to recycle processed uranium. These operations were not covered by international sanctions imposed in connection with the war in Ukraine.
AFP notes that Rosatom has the only plant in the world – in Seversk, Siberia — capable of carrying out key uranium processing steps.
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Uranium can be recycled to be re-enriched and re-used. As uranium prices rise again on international markets, energy companies are increasingly interested in reprocessing spent fuel..
According to Greenpeace, only about 10 percent re-enriched uranium sent back by Russia to France is used at the Cruas nuclear power plant in the south of the country, the only one in France that can use enriched uranium from reprocessing.
The French energy ministry and EDF did not respond to AFP's questions about the shipment or trade.
How did the French authorities react?
France ordered EDF to halt uranium trade with Rosatom in 2022.when Greenpeace first revealed the deals in the wake of the Russian invasion.
In March 2024, France said it was “seriously” considering building its own processing plant to produce enriched processed uranium.
EDF and Rosatom
EDF (Electricite de France) is one of the largest energy companies in Europe, owned mainly by the French state and operating in many countries around the world. The company is one of the global leaders in nuclear energy, and most of the electricity in France comes from its nuclear power plants.
EDF is also developing renewable sources by investing in wind, solar and hydropower, while modernizing existing infrastructure to meet the requirements of the energy transition. The company functions both as an energy producer and distributor, and its activities are of key importance for the stability of the European energy market.
Rosatom is a Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation that includes hundreds of entities involved in the entire nuclear technology chain – from uranium mining, through reactor design and construction, to fuel processing and radioactive waste management. It is one of the world's largest exporters of nuclear technologies and is implementing numerous nuclear power plant projects outside Russia, including: in Turkey, Egypt, India and Belarus.
Rosatom plays a strategic role in the Russian economy and politics, being an important tool of international influence, while intensively developing next-generation technologies, including breeder reactors and small modular reactors.
