French PM backs Areva despite nuclear safety worry

PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said he had confidence in the management of Areva, the world's biggest nuclear reactor maker, which has been told by safety bodies to alter safety features on its new power plants.

Safety agencies in France, Britain and Finland this week ordered state-controlled Areva and EDF, the world's largest nuclear electricity operator, to modify safety features on new European Pressurised Reactors (EPR).

They said there was insufficient independence between the day-to-day systems and the emergency systems.

The design problems are a blow to Areva, which has staked its export growth on the EPR and is hoping it will beat American rival Westinghouse, owned by Japan's Toshiba, to become the standard-bearer for a new generation of nuclear plants.

Fillon played down the concerns, which have hit the share price of Areva's non-voting stock.

"The management has the confidence of the state. There is no Areva problem," Fillon said in an interview with the daily Le Monde that was released ahead of publication on Thursday.

"We are in the process of building new generation reactors. it is absolutely normal that there is a debate," he said.

"The EPR technology has not been called into question. There needs to be extreme rigor in terms of safety. I have no doubt that the problems raised by the Authority will be resolved and that French reactors will be among the world's best and safest."

(Writing by James Mackenzie, editing by Tim Pearce)