FILE PHOTO: A logo of French electric company EDF is seen at an office building in La Defense business district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

PARIS (Reuters) - It is clear that France is preparing to build new nuclear power plants, Jean-Bernard Levy, Chief Executive of state-controlled utility EDF EDF.PA, said in an interview with Le Monde newspaper on Thursday.

Levy added that this was the mission he was given when he was appointed five years ago.

He added that in order to be cost-efficient it was necessary to build nuclear reactors in series, with two reactors per site on three consecutive sites.

Levy also said the French government’s talks with the European Commission about a planned restructuring of EDF have barely started, and that deeper discussion about the restructuring will start once the government has found agreement with the EU about the regulation of EDF’s nuclear production.

Around a quarter of EDF employees striked on Thursday in protest over the planned to restructuring, reducing power generation at several sites.