France spent 1 billion euros to develop nuclear power

President Nicolas Sarkozy said France would invest 1 billion euros to develop nuclear energy despite fears of increasing the safety of nuclear power after the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan.

Despite many countries around the world claiming they will not build any new nuclear power plants, after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan last March, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. It will still continue to develop nuclear energy.

The Daily Mail quoted Nicolas Sarkozy as saying: " There is currently no energy source that can replace nuclear power ."

One of 58 French nuclear power plants. (Photo: Daily Mail).

At a recent press conference on French government investment in the economy, Nicolas Sarkozy revealed that the French government will invest 1 billion euros to build more nuclear power plants in the future. Sarkozy also pledged to spend 1.35 billion euros to develop renewable energy sources.

President Sarkozy said that developing nuclear power is a right direction for the French despite worries after the nuclear demonstration in Japan. Mr Sarkozy has reassured public opinion that France's nuclear power technology is now very safe.

France is increasingly dependent on nuclear energy compared to other countries in the world. 75% of electricity production in France is supplied from 53 nuclear power plants nationwide.

Earlier, neighboring Germany announced it would close 17 nuclear power plants in the country from now until 2022. Instead, Germany will develop large-scale renewable energy projects. Following the example of Germany, Switzerland will also close their 5 nuclear power plants by 2034.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: ' We want to stop using nuclear power and develop renewable energy sources as soon as possible .'