(May 16, 1997) The 28 February 1997, the Supreme State Administrative Court of France (le Conseil d'Etat) declared that the opponents of Superphénix are in right. The Court annulled the decree of 11 July 1994, authorizing the restart of Superphénix.
(472.4674) WISE-Amsterdam -It is a victory for the World Wildlife Fund, La Frapna (Fédération Rhone-Alpes de Protection de la Natural; Rhone-Alpes Federation for Natural Protection), the Europeans Against Superphénix, as well as tens of other associations and communities from Switzerland, Italy and France.
The Conseil d'Etat has two distinct functions. The Court itself serves as the government's supreme legal advisor and its litigation section serves as the country's highest appeal chamber for cases of administrative law. The Conseil d'Etat annulled the Superphénix license decree on grounds that a public inquiry, held as part of the licensing process in 1993, had emphasized electricity production while the decree issued by the government in 1994 stressed the reactor's role in research, exploring plutonium. So the inquiry was misleading. Consequently Superphénix has no legal status at this moment and a juridical imbroglio (confusion) since on 25 december 1996 Superphénix has been laid down for 6 months to be transformed into an incinerator.
Prime Minister Alain Juppé will ask the Conseil d'Etat for advice before deciding what to do now about the Superphénix breeder reactor. He has to arbitrate between the industry minister Franck Borotra and Corinne Lepage, the environment minister. Borotra and Electricité de France suggest to leave the transformation into laboratory and to publish a simple decree for a functioning conform to the public inquiry. Corinne Lepage declared that a new public inquiry must be held to gauge opinion about the reactor's role as a research tool. However there is a possibility she is backing down in exchange for another political decision in her favour.
Sources:
- Nucleonics Week, 27 February, 13 and 20 March 1997
- Stop Malville, 12 May 1997
Contact:
Les Europeens contre Superphénix. 9 rue Dumenge F-69004 Lyon, France.
Tel: +33-4-7828-2922; Fax: +33-4-7207-7004