Nuclear power: ‘The invisible massacre’ highlighted by the ‘Sortir du nucléaire’ French network

Nearly 5.9 billion fish, crustaceans and jellyfish are killed by French nuclear power stations every year, according to a report published on 15 June 2026 by French anti-nuclear network Sortir du nucléaire. The report, entitled The Invisible Massacre, draws on 38 internal EDF documents obtained by the organisation, as well as on international research.

The Blayais plant in the Gironde estuary is estimated to trap between 2.3 and 2.6 billion organisms annually, while the Paluel plant in Seine-Maritime accounts for approximately 2.1 billion. The organisation warns that the two planned EPR2 reactors at Penly, also in Seine-Maritime, could push that figure to 2.7 billion organisms per year. The report notes that the animals most affected are juveniles, eggs and larvae — a demographic detail that tends to obscure the true scale of the impact when mortality is measured in tonnes rather than in numbers of individuals. Around one hundred species are affected, including herring, brown and grey shrimp, and a number of protected species such as eels, shad and lampreys.

To cool their reactors…