France wants to help expand Czech nuclear program

PRAGUE - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says his country's major energy companies are interested in developing the Czech Republic's nuclear program.

Unlike some other European countries, such as Germany and Austria, the Czech Republic and France are both heavily relying on nuclear energy. The Czech government is expected to approve a plan this year to build new reactors in both Czech nuclear plants, Temelin and Dukovany.

The Czech Republic's current six nuclear reactors produce a third of its electricity and that share is to increase to at least 50 percent.

During his visit to Prague, Valls told a Czech-French business forum yesterday that state-controlled companies such as utility Electricite de France and nuclear engineering giant Areva and others "are ready to react to the (Czech) decision" on expanding the nuclear output.