Hahahaha. The French RULE!
There's nothing I love more than the absurdity of government decision making. It seems the our government is unable to take a look at the big picture and make good decisions accordingly. This is a perfect example, Leo. I worked for local government for 10 years and I can cite a million examples of a similar nature - though not quite as groosly stupid as this one.
The driving factor here - fear. Politicians fearing a backlash from their constituency and a public that has an uninformed fear of nuclear energy.