The French government has asked power utility EDF to prepare for “a new start” for nuclear energy with plans to construct six EPR units over the next 15 years, Le Monde newspaper said on its website.Quoting a letter sent by environment minister Elisabeth Borne and finance minister Bruno Le Maire to EDF’s chairman, Le Monde said the company would be required to build three pairs of EPR reactors on three sites.Le Monde said the letter told Jean-Bernard Lévy to be ready for a programme of construction of three pairs of reactors on three separate sites. Construction of each pair will be about four years apart, with an 18-month gap between units in a pair.