The time is right for a nuclear renaissance in France, Macron said, adding he had made two important decisions regarding this.

Solar energy capacities should reach a capacity over 100 gigawatt by 2050, while off-shore wind capacity should grow to 40 gigawatt from virtually zero at the moment.

Trade unions at the French energy giant EDF are calling for strike action next week over government measures designed to control fuel bill rises, which the company estimates could cost it as much as EUR8.4 billion (USD9.5 billion).

The French government expects plans for new nuclear reactors should be submitted around 2023 with a target date of 2035-37 for the reactors to go online, Berangere Abba, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological Transition, said during a parliamentary debate in the Senate on 6 January.

The ARENH law (Accès régulé à l'électricité nucléaire historique, 2010) obliges EDF to sell part of its nuclear generation (up to 100 TWh/year, i.e. around a quarter of its production) to alternative suppliers on the wholesale market at a regulated price

It says its ultra-compact molten salt reactor uses "the untapped potential of used radioactive materials, and thorium, unused mining waste."

The new strategic cooperation agreement was signed by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov and Framatome CEO Bernard Fontana during the World Nuclear Exhibition held in Paris this week.

France operates 56 nuclear power reactors, which make up over 70% of the country’s electricity generation. It has a smaller per capita carbon footprint than most developed countries. “France is already a world leader in low carbon energy generation, and nuclear energy has a major role to play in that,” Mr Grossi said.

France plans to grant for an offshore wind project off the coast of Normandy. The project will have a capacity of 1,000 to 1,050 MW and is expected to produce 4.5 TWh/year of electricity.

"I can confirm to you we will launch new projects on all types of energies especially renewable energy and hydrogen. We clearly want to be hand in hand in the fight against climate change."