France arrests three men with drone near nuclear site

French police have arrested three men after they were found in possession of a drone near a French nuclear reactor. The arrests come amid a spate of mysterious drone flights over reactors that began in early October.

There have been at least 15 sightings of drones over nuclear reactors around France, raising security concerns in a country heavily dependent on atomic energy for electricity. The zone around nuclear plants is off limits.

The National Gendarmerie, part of France's armed forces, said the men were being questioned after being found with a drone Wednesday near the Belleville-sur-Loire reactor in the Cher region south of Paris. The Gendarmerie didn't immediately provide more details.

The drones — unmanned aircraft — that overflew nuclear plants ranged from very small to one spanning six feet. 

"We don't underestimate these incidents, we don't overdramatize them either," Environment and Energy Minister Ségolène Royal told French news channel i-Télé earlier this month, adding that France's nuclear sites have been prepared for possible earthquakes or plane crashes and suggesting drones were a lower risk.

Authorities insist that France's nuclear facilities are designed to handle seismic and security risks. State-controlled power company EDF said the unmanned aircraft have not affected plant operations in any way.

Greenpeace, which has led peaceful incursions into French nuclear facilities in recent years to expose security vulnerabilities, denies any connection to the drone flights.

Sylvain Trottier, a spokesman for Greenpeace France, said that while France's nuclear reactors are relatively well-protected, behind 5-foot-thick concrete walls, there is a risk that a medium-sized bomb on a drone could hit cooling pools that hold radioactive material.

"Officials are caught in this logic of 'move along, there's nothing to see here,'" Trottier said. "They are in denial about the risk."

French law prohibits individuals from operating drones in crowded areas, near airports, and near sensitive sites like military bases or nuclear plants, said Eric Heraud, spokesman for France's civil aviation authority.

Concerns about nuclear plant security were revived most recently after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. France gets more than two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power — the highest proportion in the world — and stepped up nuclear security measures after the Japan debacle.

The Associated Press