The nuclear power station (CNPE) of Cruas-Meysse is situated in the Rhone valley in Ardeche .It was built on a 145 - hectare area on the districts of Cruas and Meysse .The implantation of the site between Lyons and Marseilles on , the main north-south road , is easy to get to , either by car or by train
The CNPE of Cruas-Meysse is a major factor of the local economic expansion thanks to the taxes which it gives the local communities. Subcontracting firms are created and take part in its functioning particularly when it is stopped to renew the uranium and for yearly checks
The frieze on the cooling tower of the production unit number 4 was designed by Jean -Marie Pierret and realized in 1991
Nine mural painters , all high-mountain guides , applied 8 tons of acrylic paint to a 13,500 square metre surface .Called the " Verseau" ( Aquarius) it symbolizes air and water , the basic elemùents of our life .It is the largest frieze in Europe (in comparison , the giant on the Tignes dam , realized in 1989 by the same artist , covers 9,000 square metres.
The CNPE of Cruas-Meysse is one of the 19 nuclear sites run by Electricite de France.The first pickaxe stroke was given on the 18 th october 1977 and the production unit number 1 was coupled with the network on the 29 th april 1983.
The three last units started from 1983 to 1985 . EDF has 58 nuclear reactors on the French territory .More than 75% of the electricity produced every year in France comes from the nuclear energy.

Technologie : 4 réacteurs à eau sous pression (REP)
900 MWe* : puissance unitaire
25 TWh** : production moyenne annuelle des quatre unités, ce qui représente environ 5% de la production nationale d’électricité
* Mwe : mégawatt électrique (million de watts)
** TWh : térawatt heure (milliards de kWh)

Chomérac, a village in Ardèche
With its 2,883 inhabitants living on 1,894 hectares between the volcanic massif of Coiron and the chalky hills of Les Gras , Chomérac has always been an important trading and industrial centre because of its dominating situation in the valley of La Peyre . From the prehistoric era and its caves for housing to the modern era and its nice estates , man hasn't stopped extending his presence in the fertile plain of Chomérac.
Concerning the industrial part , silk and marble were important sources of employment and activities for many years . Workers used to come from the whole area but also from abroad ( Italy , Spain ) and the stone of Chomérac was famous in Europe for its characteristics very useful for building ( not damaged by the cold and suitable for monuments and frames ) . This Chomérac marble was used for the Fourvière basilica , part of the banks of the Suez Canal , many colossal fountains ( Valence, Montélimar, Lyons , ...;even in Canada ) Most  of the door and window frames of the area in the old houses.
And also, the Ardèche mills due to great Olivier de Serres , had their first factory at Chomérac thanks to Mr Deydier around 1670 and between the end of the 18th century and the middle of, the 19 th more than 15 mills were working and giving jobs to hundreds of female workers . After this period , factories now make precision tools and assemble textile machinery . Looking towards future , Chomérac has to control its demographic growth and at the same time it has to keep its cultural heritage at the edge of Provence . Come and share this feeling in the shade of the plane trees on the Bosquet Square or in th cool streets and "calades" around the old castle .The atmosphere which will overcome you will be something worth feeling.