French military targets Islamist rebels in Mali

[Kirkland Laing]

(Reuters) - France has ordered special forces to protect uranium sites run by French-owned Areva in Niger as the threat of attacks on its interests rises after its intervention against rebels in Mali, a military source said on Thursday.

[...]

Defense ministry officials declined to comment on the report and Areva said it did not talk about security issues.

France orders special forces to protect Niger uranium: source | Reuters

Here's the reason why:
"According to a parliamentary committee enquiring into France's supplies of uranium, about 18 percent of the raw material used to power France's 58 nuclear reactors came from Niger in 2008".

It's more like 78%. They get some from Canada but it's mainly all from Mali. France produces most of its electricity via nuclear power and tries to keep information on the sourcing of their uranium as vague as possible due to the potential problems in the region that we're seeing now.