France approved construction of six new EPR 2 reactors under President Macron's nuclear revival programme, with systematic site selection proceeding for initial deployments at Penly (Normandy) and Bugey (Ain). The EPR 2 is an optimised successor to the EPR with improved constructability. France simultaneously extended the life of 20 existing PWR reactors adding approximately 26 GW of additional capacity. The dual strategy of life extension plus new build plus SMR development represents the most comprehensive nuclear expansion programme in Western Europe.