Fallout
Hulot may clash with some of his new cabinet partners. He is opposed to the construction of
a new airport near Nantes, one of the most
explosive environmental issues in France in the last decade. The PM and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are fierce defenders of the project. To find a solution, Macron assigned a
mediator earlier this week.
Hulot is also a fervent opponent of nuclear power, which is pretty rare for a Frenchman. As Premier Philippe used to work for
Areva, one of the world’s largest constructors of nuclear energy plants, he wants to keep the
58 atomic reactors in the country open. Hulot, on the other hand, wants to ditch nuclear power entirely.
Two years ago, I tried to find out why the French are so profoundly attached to nuclear energy. Watch
the report here (in French).