French police swoop from the sky to arrest 34 Greenpeace activists who stormed France's oldest nuclear plant



Around 90 protestors stormed the Fessenheim nuclear power station close to the Swiss border



They hung anti-nuclear banners from a dome of the plant with one reading: 'Stop risking Europe'



Greenpeace spokesman calls for 'plant closures across Europe' to limit the dangers to public safety


Thirty four Greenpeace activists were under arrest in France today after breaking into the country's oldest nuclear power plant to demand that it is closed.

Up to 90 protestors stormed the Fessenheim installation, in the east of the country close to the city of Mulhouse and the Swiss border. They hung anti-nuclear banners from a dome of the plant with one reading: ‘Stop risking Europe’.



Hundreds of riot police arrived at the site following the start of the protest, at around 5.30am, and arrests were made later in the morning. Fessenheim, which is considered unsafe by many, is run by energy giants EDF, which is set to build two reactors in Britain.



Threat: A police officer is lowered from a helicopter onto the dome of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in France after it was stormed by 90 Greenpeace activists

Outflanked: Greenpeace activists on rubber dinghies hold placards reading 'Stop Risking Europe!' as they speed past Fessenheim nuclear power plant

A spokesman for the company said: ‘Gendarmes have 56 activists under control and 34 have been arrested. There has been no impact on the security of the plant, which continues to function normally.’

President Francois Hollande has pledged to close Fessenheim by 2016, but Greenpeace wants its two 37 year old reactors to be shut now. France currently relies on nuclear power to produce 75 per cent of its electricity, but Mr Hollande has pledged to cut this figure to 50 percent.



There have been ongoing concerns about the seismic safety of plants, especially since the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.



Catastrophic failure at the Japanese plant resulted in a meltdown of three of its six nuclear reactors, causing injuries to workers and creating huge health fears among people living nearby.

Protesters unfurl a giant banner reading 'Stop Risking Europe' from the roof of Fessenheim nuclear power plant. They are demanding it is shut immediately



A police dingy sails towards the nuclear power station as a helicopter lowers an officer onto the power station's roof from where the Greenpeace activists have hung their banner

Target: Up to 90 protestors stormed the Fessenheim installation, in the east of the country close to the city of Mulhouse and the Swiss border

Row: President Francois Hollande has pledged to close Fessenheim by 2016, but Greenpeace wants its two 37 year old reactors to be shut now

The environmental organization says it wants to draw attention to the 'danger of aging nuclear power plants in Europe'

A Greenpeace spokesman called for ‘plant closures across Europe’ to limit the dangers to public safety, and the huge cost associated with running the plants.



Greenpeace activists regularly break into nuclear plants so as to highlight their concerns about them. Around 30 were arrested last July after getting into EDF’s Tricastin plant in the south of France.



EDF plans to start operating the first new nuclear reactor at the Hinkley Point C site in England in 2023.



Britain is counting on the construction of new nuclear plants to replace ageing and polluting power stations that are closing down over the coming years.



A Greenpeace spokesman called for 'plant closures across Europe' to limit the dangers to public safety, and the huge cost associated with running the plants