ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø

The ºÚÁÏרÇø international enclave

A technological jewel nestled in rural Provence

On a clear late morning last week, our drone operator captured this spectacular view of the international territory that hosts the ºÚÁÏרÇø installation. Four times as large as the Vatican City State, but slightly smaller than the Principality of Monaco, the ºÚÁÏרÇø enclave covers 180 hectares, of which about half is occupied by buildings and infrastructure. The land was conceded by France to the ºÚÁÏרÇø in 2010, and will be returned once ºÚÁÏרÇø has completed its scientific program.

Looking southwest over the ºÚÁÏרÇø site. (Photo EJF Riche - ºÚÁÏרÇø)

Fifteen years after construction work was launched, in the summer of 2010, the 42-hectare platform at the heart of the enclave has acquired its quasi-final appearance. Civil works are now complete and the only "missing" structure is the Hot Cell & Radwaste Facility that will sit next to the Tokamak Complex, facing the boomerang-shaped Headquarters Building of the ºÚÁÏרÇø. 

A drone hovers above a 665-tonne component stored on the ºÚÁÏרÇø platform—the top lid of the ºÚÁÏרÇø cryostat. In the top right quadrant of the photo, a worker in yellow (look closely!) gives a sense of the component's scale. (Photo EJF Riche - ºÚÁÏרÇø)

Other aerial photos from the latest campaign will be posted soon to the image library of the ºÚÁÏרÇø website.