France pledges financial aid for Hinkley nuclear project: reports

The French government is poised to give energy firm EDF the funds it needs to move forward with its Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset.

According to reports in Reuters, French economy minister Emmanuel Macron said it would be a “mistake” to abandon Hinkley, and that he would ensure it would be built, on a recent visit to EDF’s nuclear plant at Civaux.

“If you believe in nuclear, you cannot say that you will not participate in the biggest nuclear project in the world,” he said.

The French government owns an 85 per cent stake in EDF. Macron said one of the ways the state might help is by accepting dividend payments in the form of shares rather than cash, something which it’s done previously.

“We have done it for this year and we will look at doing it in the coming years,” he is quoted as saying. He added that a decision on financial help would be made by May.  

EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Lévy was also reported to have attended the visit. When asked if a final investment decision would happen before EDF’s annual shareholder meeting in May, he once again said it would be taken soon.

Last week Lévy warned that the Hinkley project would not go ahead without financial backing from the French state. In a letter to workers he defended the viability of the project, saying the economics of Hinkley had been “thoroughly examined” by independent experts.

EDF has said it will cost £18 billion to build Hinkley, although a State Aid investigation by the European Commission estimated that it the price tag would actually be £24.5 billion.   

The project has faced from resistance from unions representing workers at the energy giant. Reuters reported that the visit to Civaux was picketed by members of the CGT union, which said Hinkley would “jeopardise the company”.