The additional information and consolidating elements expected during the pilot industrial phase are important for nuclear safety in operation and in the long term, but are not required at the DAC stage. ASNR considers that the commitments made by Andra, some of which require the implementation of the pilot industrial phase, will make it possible to provide these elements when they are required. ASNR therefore considers that the dossier, completed by Andra in accordance with the commitments made during the review, can be taken forward as the basis for the public inquiry. ASNR’s opinion was presented to Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST) and High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety (HCTISN) in December 2025. Following publication of ASNR’s opinion and that of the National Review Board (CNE2), OPECST will issue its report assessing the DAC file. The opinions of ASNR, CNE2, regional authorities, and the competent environmental authority (in the case of Cigéo, the Inspectorate General for the Environment and Sustainable Development), will be appended to the DAC dossier for the public inquiry phase, which will take place in 2026. Once the public inquiry has been completed, authorisation for creation of the new facility may be granted by a decree issued by the Conseil d’État (Council of State). This decree would mark the start of the first phase in the life of Cigéo: the pilot industrial phase. The results of the pilot industrial phase will be the subject of a report by Andra, and will be subject to assessment by ASNR, CNE2 and the OPECST. Once these results have been analysed, the Government will submit a bill to Parliament to provide a framework for the full operation of the facility and to adapt the conditions for its reversibility. Reversibility Reversibility is the ability, for successive generations, to either continue the construction and then the operation of successive sections of a disposal facility, or to reassess previous choices and change the management solutions. It is materialised by the progressive nature of the construction, the adaptability of the design and the operational flexibility of Cigéo, enabling technological progress to be integrated and allowing adaptation to possible changes in waste inventory following a change in energy policy. It includes the possibility of retrieving waste packages from the repository under conditions and over a time frame that are consistent with the strategy for operation and closure of the repository. Submission of the Creation Authorisation Application (DAC) Government referral to ASNR Draft decree Promulgation of the Decree Start of the pilot industrial phase TECHNICAL REVIEW ASNR OPINION CNE2 opinion Public inquiry Regulatory consultations OPECST report ASNR OPINION 25 November 2025 Horizon 2027-2028 2026-2027 2023 REVIEW PROCESS FOR THE CIGÉO CREATION AUTHORISATION APPLICATION 2023-2025 Dialogue with the public ABSTRACTS – ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 17
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