At a summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron argued that nuclear energy could help power AI-driven data centers and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that Europe had made a “strategic mistake” by reducing nuclear’s share in its energy mix, noting that it once provided a third of the bloc’s electricity but now accounts for about 15%. France, which operates one of the world’s largest nuclear reactor fleets, is pushing for a broader revival of atomic energy in Europe. But the renewed interest faces opposition from activists, who disrupted the event to protest nuclear expansion and continued uranium purchases from Russia.
