French strike continues to block reactor maintenance, power production - union

French power supply was reduced by 18 gigawatts (GW) at nuclear, thermal and hydropower plants on Tuesday due to the strike against the government's planned pension overhaul, a CGT union spokesperson told Reuters.

That equates to 28% of current total power production, data from grid operator RTE showed. However, France was exporting 8.7 GW to neighbours, suggesting that domestic supply is enough to meet demand.

Maintenance was also blocked at 11 French nuclear reactors, including the Penly 1 reactor that was found to have stress corrosion last week, the CGT spokesperson added.