-
Forgetting luggage on French transport can land you a hefty fine
Fines vary from €72 to €1,500 depending on the level of offence, with 360 items left per week
-
Death of Emile, 2: French prosecutor gives more details after grandparents released
There are several reasons that a third party is suspected of involvement in Emile’s death
-
Marine Le Pen awaits trial decision that could derail her 2027 presidential hopes
The far-right politician could be banned from running in upcoming key election if found guilty of embezzlement
Anti-nuclear protesters demand Fessenheim be shut
Demo at Alsace power station comes on anniversary of Fukushima and days after operator fined for coolant leak

Hundreds of protesters have marched outside the Fessenheim nuclear power station in Alsace demanding that the plant, the oldest still operating in France, be closed.
The demonstration, which also included protesters from Switzerland and Germany, came on the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and just days after Fessenheim operator EDF was fined for a coolant leak at the plant in 2015.
Protesters were calling on President Hollande to act on his 2012 election pledge to close the plant. The Fessenheim protest was mirrored by others in Strasbourg, Lyon, Paris and other towns.
The plant was built in 1977 and there have been continuing calls for it to be closed because it is sited on a seismic fault line and its infrastructure is ageing.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France
Last week EDF was fined €17,000 after a piping failure in 2015 led to the leak of 100m3 of coolant water and the plant shut-down.
The head of France's nuclear regulator ASN, Pierre Franck Chevet, criticised EDF soon afterwards for under-reporting the incident by calling it “lack of water-tightness” when pipes had ruptured – and the repair also ruptured when investigators were at the plant.
A little over 70% of France’s electricity comes from its 20 nuclear plants and 58 reactors but there were fears of power shortages over the new year as several were closed due to safety and maintenance problems.
Fessenheim’s closure has been pushed back until 2018 but there have been problems at its intended replacement, Flamanville in Normandy, where the No1 reactor has been closed since a fire in the non-nuclear area of the plant.