The nuclear crisis in Japan touched off mass anti-nuclear protests across Europe this weekend. In Germany, some 50,000 protesters formed a 27-mile human chain from Germany’s Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant to the city of Stuttgart. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently announced plans to extend the life of 17 German nuclear plants for an average 12 extra years. A large anti-nuclear protest was also held in France. Eva Joly is French member of the European Parliament.

Eva Joly: “The idea that it is dangerous but that we can cope with it, that is finished today. And we know how to get out of the nuclear plants: we need renewable energy, we need windmills, we need géothermie, and we need solar energy.”