Heat Wave Forces French to Shut Down Nuclear Plants and Import U.K. Electricity. By Robin Pagnamenta, London Times, July 3, 2009. "France is being forced to import electricity from Britain to cope with a summer heatwave that has helped to put a third of its nuclear power stations out of action... Fourteen of France's 19 nuclear power stations are located inland and use river water rather than seawater for cooling. When water temperatures rise, EDF is forced to shut down the reactors to prevent their casings from exceeding 50C."