France has one of the largest nuclear power programs in the world. Nuclear power plants in France generated 361 billion kilowatthours of electricity in 2021, accounting for 68% of the country’s annual electricity generation, the highest nuclear generation share in the world. France has 56 operable nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 61 gigawatts (GW), second only to the 95 GW nuclear fleet in the United States. Nuclear plants accounted for 19% of U.S. electricity generation in 2021. Although France’s first commercial nuclear reactor came online in the 1960s, the country began the large-scale plan to build its ... (full story)