The French regulations applicable to nuclear activities are not the product of a general framework law, but have evolved gradually, to keep pace with changes in the nuclear activities themselves. Many of the texts governing these activities are therefore based on legislation of a general nature, particularly the Environment Code, which codifies law 76-629 of 10 July 1976 concerning nature protection, law n 92-3 of 3 January 1992 on water and law 96-1236 of 30 December 1996 on air and the rational use of energy, the Public Health Code and the Labour Code.

The legislative provisions applicable to radiation protection and nuclear safety can be found on the one hand in chapter III of section III of book III of the first part of the Public Health Code, the provisions of which were mainly taken from ordinance 2001-270 of 28 March 2001 concerning the transposition of community directives in the field of protection against ionising radiation and, on the other, in law 61-842 of 2 August 1961 concerning the reduction of atmospheric pollution and offensive odours.

Radiation protection and nuclear safety regulations are increasingly derived from rules adopted at an international level, whether community regulations and directives, such as Council directive No 96/29/Euratom dated 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation, or international conventions such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety signed in Vienna on 20 September 1994 or the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, signed in Vienna on 5 September 1997.

Finally, the legal framework for nuclear activities also stems from a variety of international norms, standards and recommendations. The following in particular should be mentioned:
- the recommendations of the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection), in particular the ICRP 60 currently under revision;
– the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) dealing with nuclear safety and radiation protection, particularly the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionising Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (Safety Series no. 115);
- the work of the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA).

Parts 1 and 2 of this chapter in turn present the current regulatory picture in the fields of radiation protection and nuclear safety and the work in progress.

Since publication of Council directive 96/29/Euratom dated 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation and Council directive 97/43/Euratom dated 30 June of 1997 on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionising radiation in relation to medical exposure, a complete update has been undertaken of the legislative and regulatory provisions concerning radiation protection contained in the Public Health Code and the Labour Code.

Updating of the legislative part was completed with publication of the above-mentioned ordinance of 28 March 2001 and law 2004-806 of 9 August 2004 concerning public health policy, with the introduction of new articles concerning radiation protection inspections.

Updating of the regulatory part is currently being completed. The following were published in turn:
• decree 2001-1154 of 5 December 2001 concerning mandatory maintenance and quality control of medical devices;
• decree 2002-460 of 4 April 2002 concerning the protection of individuals against the dangers arising from ionising radiation;
• decree 2003-270 of 24 March 2003 concerning the protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical and medico-legal purposes;
• decree 2003-295 of 31 March 2003 concerning intervention in a radiological emergency and in the event of long-term exposure;
• decree 2003-296 of 31 March 2003 concerning worker protection against the hazards of ionising radiation.