The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique began construction of this experimental reactor moderated with heavy water and cooled with carbon dioxide (HWGCR) in 1962.

In 1971, however, the French government elected to use pressurized water reactor technology developed in the United States as their model design.

This was the only time in history that a terrorist group successfully stopped operation of a nuclear power plant.

EDF and CEA announced their intention to make this a transparent process so that it can be used as a model for future decommissioning operations at other plants.

Stage 2 began in 1997, consisting of: On December 13, 2000, a rise in the ground water level caused a flood in the chemical processing building.