As Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified Wednesday, governments across Europe remained at odds over whether to scale back nuclear power programs or continue plans to expand, while China announced that it was suspending new plant approvals until it could strengthen safety standards.

While the German public has been the most vocal against nuclear power — pushing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government this week to close temporarily seven of the country’s 17 plants — it is a different story in other parts of Europe.

France, the second-largest producer of nuclear power in the world behind the United States, said it would continue to rely on nuclear energy.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that the accident in Japan had “provoked across the world a number of questions about the safety of nuclear power stations and the energy mix.”