Nuclear
France has been a nuclear weapon state party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1992. As of May 2008, France maintains a total of approximately 348 nuclear warheads, which are carried on 60 Mirage 2000N bombers, 10 Super Etendard carrier-based aircraft, and four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). From the time it detonated its first nuclear bomb in 1960 until its final test on 27 January 1996, France conducted 210 tests at sites in the Sahara and on Pacific atolls. In 1996, President Jacques Chirac introduced reforms for the country's nuclear forces, including scaling down the number of its SSBNs from five to four, withdrawing aging Mirage IVP bombers from service, and dismantling its Plateau d'Albion land-based ballistic missile system. France also dismantled its nuclear test facilities in the Pacific and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the protocols to the Treaty of Rarotonga. France ceased production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for weapons in 1992 and 1996, respectively, and, in 1998, began to dismantle the Marcoule reprocessing plant and the Pierrelatte enrichment facility that had been used for this purpose. In March 2008, French President Sarkozy announced that the country would reduce its stock of air-launched weapons by a third, but leave its far larger submarine missile arsenal in place. Once the reduction takes effect, France will have fewer than 300 deployed warheads. The country's June 2008 White Paper on defense and national security notes nuclear deterrence remains an essential concept of national security.

Biological
France possessed a biological weapons program from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1935 to 1940. During these periods, France weaponized the potato beetle and conducted research on pathogens that cause anthrax, salmonella, cholera, and rinderpest. Its scientists also investigated botulinum toxin and ricin. It acceded to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) on 27 September 1984.

Chemical
France developed and used chemical weapons in WWI and maintained stockpiles of mustard gas and phosgene at the beginning of WWII. In a 1988 speech to the United Nations, French President Mitterrand claimed that France had no chemical weapons and would produce none in the future. Having no evidence to the contrary, it should be accepted that France no longer has a chemical warfare program nor does it have chemical weapons stockpiles. France ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on 2 March  1995.

Missile
France has an estimated 60 operational Air-Sol-Moyenne Porte (ASMP) supersonic missiles with a 300-kilometer range. According to the country's June 2008 White Paper, from 2009 onwards, France's airborne nuclear weapons will be carried on ASMP Ameliore (ASMP-A) cruise missiles, with a range of 500 kilometers. The ASMPs are deployed on Mirage 2000N bombers and carrier-based aircraft. The number of nuclear-capable land-based aircraft will be reduced from 60 to 40. France deactivated and dismantled its 18 S3D intermediate-range missiles on the Plateau d'Albion in the 1990s. France is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

	Updated August 2008