[en] Given the size of the French nuclear program, the management of radioactive waste is an important stake for France and a sensitive issue for the French public. It is also a very difficult matter to discuss due to the emotions and passion expressed by some of the stakeholders. The French National Plan for Radioactive Materials and Waste Management (PNGMDR) is produced every three years, in accordance with a 2006 law. It reviews the existing management modes, identifies the foreseeable need for storage and disposal facilities and determines the targets to be met for radioactive waste for which there is as yet no final management solution. A national public debate was organized in France in 2019 to discuss the future PNGMDR's contents. In France, such debates are organized by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP), an independent organization which produces a report at the end of the debate. One of the conclusions of the CNDP's report is that it is very difficult in France to speak about nuclear issues. Some meetings were cancelled because of too strong an opposition. A second conclusion is that regular citizens did not participate. One last conclusion is that there is a willingness over all the participants to the debate to be more involved in the preparation of the next National plan. (authors)