Why “Facing the Atom”

Talking about nuclear energy in society often means exposing oneself to an avalanche of prejudices: greenhouse gas emissions, tens of thousands of Fukushima deaths, or other imminent uranium shortages.

While EDF, UNSCEAR, or the IAEA have already largely debunked these myths, their analyses often remain ignored or difficult to access for the general public.

Voices of Nuclear have therefore decided to launch Facingtheatom.fr to reinforce existing efforts and centralize documented responses so they are accessible to all.

Some will wonder: “What good is another website when nuclear power already seems so widely accepted across Europe?”.

While we certainly see nuclear power’s return to favor in public opinion as a positive development, satisfaction must not blind us to the underlying reasons for this rapid reversal of the situation.

Although the war in Ukraine has highlighted the advantages of nuclear energy in terms of energy sovereignty, its essential benefits for society and respect for the planet are still insufficiently understood. 

Even among its new supporters, knowledge of nuclear energy remains limited. A brief inventory of the knowledge and opinions of the general public is necessary to better understand the relevance of Facingtheatom.fr.

Despite the increasingly ambitious promises of future SMRs, the most significant event for the nuclear industry in the last five years has been more political than technical. Public opinion seems to have massively shifted to side with the atom in a matter of just a few years.

Poll after poll, the trend has been confirmed. In December 2024, a Harris-Interactive opinion survey for GIFEN revealed that 75% of respondents were in favor of using nuclear energy for electricity production. It also revealed that 47% of supporters of the French Ecologists party (formerly EELV) were in favor of nuclear energy use.

“47% of Ecologists party supporters are in favor of the use of nuclear energy for electricity production”

One might think this is specific to the French, a nuclear country par excellence, but this trend extends far beyond France’s borders.

In November 2024, Voices united some thirty non-profits and learned societies in favor of nuclear energy in an open letter to the new European Commission. Among other things, this letter asked the new Commissioners to support development of the nuclear sector in Europe and compiled the results of opinion polls on nuclear energy from many European countries.

The result is clear: more than 62% of Europeans are in favor of nuclear energy, with favorable opinion even exceeding 75% in several countries of the old continent.

“We cannot pass up this unprecedented opportunity to engage with receptive public opinion.”

After decades during which the voice of nuclear energy advocates has been completely inaudible, we cannot pass up this unprecedented opportunity to dialog with receptive public opinions and promote important decisions for successful energy transition. Voices of Nuclear decided to launch the website FacingtheAtom.fr in this context: a tool for the benefit of all – opinion leaders (financial decision-makers, politicians, journalists) and the general public.

The study of opinion polls is clear: despite flattering polls, misconceptions about nuclear energy still run rampant in the collective imagination. Whether it is the effect on the climate, nuclear waste, or the risk of accidents, the atom continues to arouse often disproportionate fears. The figures from the latest ASNR barometer are a perfect example:

Remember that the WHO has recorded 14.9 million additional deaths associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, for 2020 and 2021 alone.

“40% of French people say they have never heard of the Flamanville EPR and 62% have never heard of CIGEO”

To these misconceptions we can add a flagrant lack of knowledge of the major projects in the French nuclear industry. While, for many of us, the acronyms EPR or CIGEO seem as familiar as SNCF or EDF, this is not the case for most French people. And the levels may seem alarming, with 40% of French people saying they have never heard of the EPR and 62% have never heard of the CIGEO project. At the same time, a second trend is emerging, which is quite interesting.

It cannot be denied that, for many years, the most audible voices on nuclear energy, and in particular the CIGEO project, were those of its opponents. It could be that the increase respondents stating they do not know the term CIGEO is a sign that anti-nuclear voices are losing influence. Nevertheless, it is apparent that neither institutional organizations nor non-profits in favor of nuclear power seem to have succeeded in filling the void.

“Less than one in five French people place any trust in unions or policies on nuclear energy, and hardly more in the media.”