French nuclear safety agency urges more equipment protection

France's nuclear safety regulator has given the country's nuclear power plants a clean bill of health but has recommended that the protection of vital equipment be beefed up.

The IRSN agency has urged plants to prepare for natural disasters worse those they were built to withstand.

In a report on Thursday, the agency called on plants to better prepare for situations including a long-term loss of power, as well as major earthquakes, floods and fires.

The report comes in response to the March earthquake and tsunami that triggered a meltdown at Japan's Fukushima plant. France is the world's most nuclear-reliant nation, with a string of 58 plants that produce 70 per cent of the country's total power.