Nowhere did the alarm bells sounded by the Fukushima nuclear disaster ring more loudly than in France, which leads the world in nuclear energy. About three-quarters of its electricity comes from nuclear power stations, and it is one of the main exporters of reactors and related technology. Now it is leading the way in setting radical safety standards for the industry, in an effort to ensure that the disaster in Japan on 11 March 2011 could never be replayed on French soil. Last week, the country's nuclear regulator imposed what are perhaps the toughest safety measures so far in response to the Fukushima accident. In a novel approach, it will require all power plants to build a set of safety systems of last resort, contained in bunkers that will be hardened to withstand more extreme earthquakes, floods and other threats than plants themselves are designed to cope with.
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