Five years after the publication of the Office’s first report on the management of high activity nuclear wastes, the conclusions of which were largely incorporated in the Act of 30 December 1991, Mr Christian Bataille attempts to assess progress in the different avenues of research that parliament had proposed. Although in general the will of parliament seems to have been fairly well respected, it nevertheless appears that the orientation of research programmes will have to take into account recent changes in the design of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Adhering to the same approach as he used in his earlier reports on this subject, Mr Christian Bataille reiterates that this particularly sensitive issue can only be handled in a transparent and democratic manner and that he will demand continuity, adaptation and coherence from all concerned, including the public authorities. The second volume of the report will consider the problems posed by military nuclear wastes.