Framing nuclear waste as a political issue in France

This article analyses the factors that contributed to the political framing of the nuclear waste issue in France. The sudden appearance on the political scene of this issue, addressed behind closed doors and in specialised arenas until the 1990s, generated numerous public debates, parliamentary reports and finally a law. The author critically analyses certain agenda-building theories and then shows that this process of political framing can be comprehended only in relation to the technical problematisation of the issue and the history of the institutions traditionally in charge of it. The orientation towards a political treatment of the problem resulted primarily, albeit partially, from the narrowing down of the technical options for addressing it. Without technical alternatives, the political authorities appeared to be the only way of solving conflicts generated by France's nuclear waste policy.