IN a new twist in the Hinkley C saga, the French Government has now pledged its commitment in the building of the nuclear power station.

Despite previous uncertainty as to whether French power company EDF go through with the £18 billion project near Bridgwater, it seems the expansion may have been confirmed.

In an interview with Andrew Marr for the BBC, Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, said that approving the contract would be "very important" for France and the company and hinted towards progress being made in the near future.

He said they were "completely committed", and that said work still needed to be finalised but he hoped something would be signed with UK officials this week.

Mr Macron said: "We back Hinkley Point project, it's very important for France, it's very important for the nuclear sector and EDF.

"Now we have to finalise the work, and especially the technical and industrial work, very closely with EDF, with the British government, to be in a situation to sign in the coming week or more."

A Stop Hinkley spokesman said: “What the French minister is saying doesn’t change anything.

“He’s addressing two audiences- one in this country for people who want the project to go ahead and the other in France who may have doubts about it.

“This is not another thumbs up for Hinkley.”

In March, EDF's chief financial officer quit and reports of a disagreement over the cost of the project surfaced, and last week the French Energy Minister Ségolène Royale said it should be delayed.

The British Government has insisted that plans to build the Hinkley Point C reactor will go ahead and voiced its intention to commission additional nuclear plants before 2020.