As the world watches the disasters in Japan continue to unfold, there is much criticism of the performance of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the Fukushima nuclear power complex.

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France generates 80 percent of its electricity with nuclear, and its state-owned firms are world leaders: Paris-based EDF is the largest operator of nuclear power plants worldwide, while Areva is the largest provider of nuclear services and technology.

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The problems are so far "beyond the design capacity" of the plant that the Japanese are working in uncharted territory, said Michael Friedlander, a former senior operator at U.S. nuclear power plants.

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It spares neither the government nor Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the nuclear plant.

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