Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant

The Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Fessenheim commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France, 15km north east of the Mulhouse urban area, within 1.5km of the border with Germany, and approximately 40km from Switzerland. The plant is located in the thirteenth most densely populated region in Metropolitan France and in the centre of the European Backbone. It is the oldest operational nuclear power plant in France since the Superphénix, a fast breeder reactor, was closed in 1996/97.There have been ongoing concerns about the seismic safety of the plant and, following the 2011 Fukushima I nuclear accidents, on March 21 the local Information and Oversight Commission for the plant called for the seismic risk to be re-evaluated based on a 7.2 magnitude earthquake; the plant was originally designed for a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. The Swiss cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura have also said that they are going to ask the French government to suspend the operation of Fessenheim while undertaking a safety review based on the lessons learned from Japan. The German state of Baden-Württemberg has called for a temporary closure in line with the 3-month shutdown of pre-1981 plants ordered in Germany. On March 29 the Franche-Comté Regional Council went further and voted for the plant to be closed, the first time a French Regional Council has passed such a vote. On April 6 the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt also voted for the plant to be closed as did the council of the Urban Community of Strasbourg on April 12. The European Parliament's Green members are also supporting the closure demands and are referring the matter to the European Commission. Around 3,800 people demonstrated near the plant on April 8; a larger demonstration is expected on April 25. The group Stop Fessenheim have collected over 63,000 signatures through an online petition calling for Fessenheim's closure, and, on April 18, began a 366-day 'fasting relay' outside the préfecture office in Colmar.