Oldest French reactor to close by 2017

• Tweet

PARIS, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- France's energy minister said the government intends to close the Fessenheim nuclear reactor, the country's oldest, by 2017.

Speaking on the radio station France Info, Delphine Batho said, "Fessenheim will be closed as soon as possible, in socially and technically responsible conditions. Nuclear plants are being phased out across the world."

France is the world's most nuclear energy-dependent country , operating 58 reactors, but its reliance on nuclear power has been called into question since Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.

The Fessenheim reactor in eastern France, in use since 1977, is considered vulnerable to seismic activity and potential flooding, Radio France Internationale said Friday.