In an effort to raise nuclear power production, energy companies are building a new reactor and power line in Normandy in northern France. The plans have attracted strong opposition from local residents.  

A region better known for camembert cheese, lush rolling hills and apples, Normandy has become an unlikely battleground for France's efforts to boost nuclear energy production.

 

State-controlled energy company EDF is building France's first ever third generation nuclear reactor (termed a European Pressurized Reactor) in the town of Flamanville. And RTE, the electricity transmission network operator, is constructing a new overhead power line in the region. Work on the Flamanville reactor is set to be complete by 2012.  

 

The plans have angered local residents who fear the high-voltage cables could lead to dangerous health and environmental effects.

Jean-Claude Bossard, mayor of the Normandy town of Le Chefresne, represents one of the 64 communities protesting the Contentin-Maine line -- a163-kilometer-long stretch of overhead power lines that will transport electricity from the Flamanville nuclear reactor.