Protesters scaled a reactor building at the Nogent nuclear plant near Paris Monday, unfurling a banner before being arrested by national police.
Early in the morning, nine Greenpeace activists entered the site, and plant owner EDF said they were immediately detected and monitored by security systems. Greenpeace later said the stunt was an effort to show French nuclear plants’ vulnerability. Although an EDF release indicated the intruders did not enter any buildings, and the incident “had no impact whatsoever on the security of the plant, nor on the safety of the personnel on site.”
The BBC also reported protesters unfurled banners at the Chinon and Blayais plants, also in France, but they did not enter plant grounds.
EDF operates the entire French power reactor fleet. The Nogent plant operates two roughly 1,300 megawatt pressurized water reactors, according to the World Nuclear Association.