French Opposition Parties Reach Election Alliance via Wall Street Journal

By GéRALDINE AMIEL And MAX COLCHESTER

PARIS—France’s opposition Green and Socialist parties sealed an electoral alliance over the weekend, saying they would reduce the country’s longstanding reliance on nuclear energy if they have an opportunity to form a coalition government after the spring 2012 presidential election.

The alliance came after weeks of tumultuous negotiations because Eva Joly, the Green party’s presidential candidate, and François Hollande, who won the Socialist Party nomination last month and leads in opinion polls, have diverging views on the issue.

Ms. Joly and the Greens are lobbying for quickly phasing out what they regard as a “dangerous” industry. The Socialist Party, which strongly supported France’s shift to nuclear from fossil fuels in the 1970s, is now more nuanced on the merits of atomic power. Mr. Hollande has proposed a reduction of nuclear’s share in France’s energy mix to 50% from 75%.

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