Switzerland and France poised to strike water sharing deal

A Franco-Swiss agreement on Lake Geneva water management is about to be signed under discussion for months, Swiss public broadcaster RTS has learned. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The deal will arrive with water becoming an increasingly precious resource. France is exerting pressure due to the development of its nuclear power plants. Not far from the Bugey French nuclear power plant, located 70kms from Switzerland, France plans to build new generation reactors by 2040. Water from the Rhône is pumped there to cool the facility before returning to the river. + How Switzerland is preparing for increasing drought risk In Geneva, this practice worries Antonio Hodgers, a Geneva State Councillor, who points out that France's increased water consumption, coupled with climate change, could pose a problem. "If France increases its nuclear capacity and wants to consume even more water than today, and, moreover, we have less water for our own uses because of ...