Greenpeace blocks freighter in France in uranium protest

Four people have been taken into police custody during a protest action at the port of Dunkirk by the environmental protection organization Greenpeace against French uranium deals with Russia.

The people concerned had chained themselves to a lock, the public prosecutor of Dunkirk, Charlotte Huet, said on Monday.

An investigation has been launched into the obstruction of the exercise of professional freedom and the intrusion into a restricted harbour area, she said.

According to Greenpeace, activists blocked a cargo ship, the Mikhail Dudin from St Petersburg. It regularly transports enriched or natural uranium.

Around 20 activists were involved in the action on Monday morning.

Greenpeace and French media outlets said customs data shows that France continues to import tons of Russian uranium despite Russia’s war against Ukraine. Greenpeace criticizes the fragmentary access to customs data.

The available data shows that enriched uranium was mainly imported to France from Germany and the Netherlands in 2024 and 2025. It could not be ruled out that the uranium used in the enrichment plants in these countries came from Russia’s sphere of influence, Greenpeace said.

The nuclear power sector and the Russian nuclear company Rosatom have not yet been affected by direct EU sanctions.

“Trade that indirectly finances Putin’s war must stop,” said Greenpeace nuclear expert Pauline Boyer.

Opponents of nuclear power are currently criticizing planned cooperation with Rosatom. The Russian group is to acquire a stake in German-based Advanced Nuclear Fuels GmbH (ANF), a subsidiary of the French nuclear group Framatome.

ANF also wants to manufacture fuel elements for Russian reactor types. The co-operation still has to be approved by the authorities.