France's Marcoule Nuclear Site: A History of Transition from Military to Civilian Use

French nuclear research began for military purposes and then further developed for business. This article traces the history of French nuclear development from the establishment of the French Atomic Energy Commission in 1945 to the present by dividing this period into six phases. Contrary to previou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsian journal of peacebuilding Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 31 - 54
Main Author Chieko, Kojima
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Seoul Institute for Peace and Unification Studies 31.05.2019
Subjects
Armed forces
Atomic research
Case studies
Energy development
Engineers
History
Military history
Nuclear energy
Nuclear fuels
Nuclear physics
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear reactors
Nuclear research
Nuclear weapons
Political parties
Technology
Uranium
World War II
United Kingdom > UK
France
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Summary:French nuclear research began for military purposes and then further developed for business. This article traces the history of French nuclear development from the establishment of the French Atomic Energy Commission in 1945 to the present by dividing this period into six phases. Contrary to previous studies which focus on certain periods, seventy years of French nuclear history is investigated here. It describes the transition from military to civilian use, the development of the nuclear fuel cycle including the fast breeder reactor, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, and disposal research. Additionally, based on a historical case study of the Marcoule site, the oldest nuclear site in France, this article shows that France will rely on back-end nuclear technology to survive in the twenty-first century.
ISSN:2288-2693
2288-2707
DOI:10.18588/201905.00a076