Fact Sheet

France Overview

France Overview

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France is a party to all of the major nonproliferation treaties and international export control regimes. Although it has scaled down its nuclear forces since the end of the Cold War, France still retains a significant nuclear capability. Though France developed biological and chemical weapons during World War I, and restarted these programs during the 1930s, it has ceased activities in both areas. It possesses a limited but diverse missile program.

Nuclear

France has been a nuclear weapon state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) since 1992. In March 2008, French President Sarkozy announced that the country would leave its submarine missile arsenal in place while scaling back its stock of air-launched weapons by a third, cutting its nuclear arsenal to less than 300 warheads.1 Reduction to below 300 has since been confirmed by Presidents François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron; the current estimated size of the French arsenal is 290 warheads.2 France’s nuclear weapons are carried on 40 Rafale F3 land-based aircraft, 10 Rafale MF3 carrier-based aircraft, and four Triomphant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), the latest of which, (Le Terrible), entered service in 2010.3

From the time it detonated its first nuclear bomb on 13 February 1960, until its final test on 27 January 1996, France conducted 210 tests at sites in the Sahara and on Pacific atolls.4 In 1996, President Jacques Chirac introduced reforms to the country’s nuclear forces, including scaling back the number of French SSBNs from five to four, withdrawing aging Mirage IVP bombers from service, and dismantling the Plateau d’Albion land-based ballistic missile system.5 France also dismantled its nuclear test facilities in the Pacific and has since ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the protocols to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the Treaty of Rarotonga and the Treaty of Pelindaba.6 France ceased production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for weapons in 1992 and 1996, respectively, and in 1998 began to dismantle the corresponding Marcoule reprocessing plant and Pierrelatte enrichment facility.7

On 11 March 2009, then President Sarkozy announced that France would rejoin NATO’s integrated military command structure after a 43-year absence. However, rejoining the U.S.-led military structure will not affect France’s nuclear independence.8 The country’s December 2017 Defence and National Security Strategic View notes that France must maintain its nuclear deterrent to prevent any other state from infringing on its vital interests.9 Following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, France became the sole nuclear weapons state in the European Union. In a February 2020 address at the École de Guerre, President Emmanuel Macron, declaring that the nation’s vital interests now have a European dimension, called for a strategic dialogue between France’s European partners on the role played by the French nuclear deterrent in European collective security.10

France generates approximately 72% of its energy from 58 nuclear power plants, and has extensive experience building them.11 The government-owned company Framatome (formerly AREVA) is currently in the process of building a “third generation” reactor called the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). The first two French-designed EPR reactors went into operation in 2018 and 2019 in China, and the Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj applied for permission to load fuel into the third, the Olkiluoto 3 EPR reactor, in April 2020.12 EPR reactors are planned and under construction in France and the United Kingdom.13 France also possesses a mature plutonium reprocessing industry. The Orano (formerly AREVA) La Hague plant has a commercial reprocessing capacity of 1,700 tons of used nuclear fuel per year, and uses the PUREX process to extract uranium and plutonium for recycling in MOX fuel.14

Although France exports nuclear facilities and expertise, it also helps to limit the proliferation of especially sensitive materials and technologies through its membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Zangger Committee (ZAC).

Biological

France possessed a biological weapons program from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1935 to 1940, and 1947 to 1956; the French biological weapons program officially continued through 1972 though it did so with diminished funding and interest as investment and research efforts shifted to the nation’s nuclear weapons program.15 During these periods, France weaponized the potato beetle and conducted research on the pathogens that cause anthrax, salmonella, cholera, and rinderpest. Its scientists also investigated botulinum toxin and ricin.16 It acceded to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) on 27 September 1984, and is a member of the Australia Group.17

Chemical

France developed and used chemical weapons in WWI and maintained stockpiles of mustard gas and phosgene at the beginning of WWII.18 During the 1960s, France also manufactured and stockpiled significant quantities of Sarin and VX nerve agents.19 In a 1988 speech to the United Nations, then President François Mitterrand asserted that France had no chemical weapons and would produce none in the future.20 France ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on 2 March 1995, and is a member of the Australia Group.21

Missile

In 2008, France began replacing the 48 M-45 missiles on its four SSBNs with the new M-51 missile. The M-51 is a three-stage missile and has a range of 6,000 kilometers. A missile test conducted in July 2010 confirmed the ability of the Triomphant-class submarine to launch the new missile; all 4 SSBNs now carry M51 missiles.22 Two versions of the M-51 are currently deployed: the M51.1, capable of carrying six 100-kt TN-75 warheads, and the M-51.2, an upgraded missile with improved accuracy, greater range, and a speed of up to Mach 20.23 The newer M51.2 is designed to carry the Tête Nucléaire Océanique (TNO) warhead (with a reported yield of 100 kt) and was declared operational by Defense Minister Florence Parly in 2017.24 M51.2 missiles are scheduled to replace the M51.1 by the end of 2020.25  A third version of the M51 missile is in development.26

From 1986 to 2009, France operated 60 Air-Sol Moyenne Porte (ASMP) supersonic cruise missiles with a 250 to 300 kilometer range. The ASMPs were gradually replaced by the ASMP Amélioré (ASMP-A) cruise missile, which has an increased range of 500 kilometers and carries the TNA warhead (with a maximum yield of 300 kilotons); the transition to ASMP-A was completed in May 2011.27 The ASMP-A are deployed on the Rafale F3, which replaced the older Mirage 2000N aircraft in 2018.28 Since 2008, the number of nuclear-capable land-based aircraft has been reduced from 60 to 40.29 France deactivated and dismantled its 18 S3D intermediate-range missiles on the Plateau d’Albion in the 1990s.30 France is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC).

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Turkey Overview

Fact Sheet

Turkey Overview

Full overview of Turkey's nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile capabilities and nonproliferation activities.

Glossary

Nonproliferation
Nonproliferation: Measures to prevent the spread of biological, chemical, and/or nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. See entry for Proliferation.
Export control
National laws or international arrangements established to restrict the sale of certain goods to certain countries, or to ensure that safeguards or end-use guarantees are applied to the export and sale of sensitive and dual-use technologies and materials. See entry for Dual-use
Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)
Signed in 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the most widely adhered-to international security agreement. The “three pillars” of the NPT are nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Article VI of the NPT commits states possessing nuclear weapons to negotiate in good faith toward halting the arms race and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. The Treaty stipulates that non-nuclear-weapon states will not seek to acquire nuclear weapons, and will accept International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on their nuclear activities, while nuclear weapon states commit not to transfer nuclear weapons to other states. All states have a right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and should assist one another in its development. The NPT provides for conferences of member states to review treaty implementation at five-year intervals. Initially of a 25-year duration, the NPT was extended indefinitely in 1995. For additional information, see the NPT.
SSBN
Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear: A hull classification for a submarine capable of launching a ballistic missile. The "N", or nuclear, refers to the ship's propulsion system. SSBN's are generally reserved for strategic vessels, as most submarine launched ballistic missiles carry nuclear payloads. A non-strategic vessel carries the designation SSN, or attack submarine.
Dismantlement
Dismantlement: Taking apart a weapon, facility, or other item so that it is no longer functional.
Ballistic missile
A delivery vehicle powered by a liquid or solid fueled rocket that primarily travels in a ballistic (free-fall) trajectory.  The flight of a ballistic missile includes three phases: 1) boost phase, where the rocket generates thrust to launch the missile into flight; 2) midcourse phase, where the missile coasts in an arc under the influence of gravity; and 3) terminal phase, in which the missile descends towards its target.  Ballistic missiles can be characterized by three key parameters - range, payload, and Circular Error Probable (CEP), or targeting precision.  Ballistic missiles are primarily intended for use against ground targets.
Ratification
Ratification: The implementation of the formal process established by a country to legally bind its government to a treaty, such as approval by a parliament. In the United States, treaty ratification requires approval by the president after he or she has received the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. Following ratification, a country submits the requisite legal instrument to the treaty’s depository governments Procedures to ratify a treaty follow its signature.

See entries for Entry into force and Signature.
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The CTBT: Opened for signature in 1996 at the UN General Assembly, the CTBT prohibits all nuclear testing if it enters into force. The treaty establishes the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to ensure the implementation of its provisions and verify compliance through a global monitoring system upon entry into force. Pending the treaty’s entry into force, the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO is charged with establishing the International Monitoring System (IMS) and promoting treaty ratifications. CTBT entry into force is contingent on ratification by 44 Annex II states. For additional information, see the CTBT.
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco: This treaty, opened for signature in February 1967, created a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Treaty of Tlatelolco was the first international agreement that aimed to exclude nuclear weapons from an inhabited region of the globe. The member states accept the application of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all their nuclear activities. The treaty also establishes a regional organization, the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), to supervise treaty implementation and ensure compliance with its provisions. For additional information, see the LANWFZ.
Treaty of Rarotonga
Treaty of Rarotonga: The Treaty on the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SPNWFZ) prohibits the testing, manufacturing, acquiring, and stationing of nuclear explosive devices on any member's territory. The treaty also prohibits the dumping of radioactive wastes into the sea. In addition, the treaty required all parties to apply International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards to all their peaceful nuclear activities. For additional information, see the SPNWFZ.
Treaty of Pelindaba
Treaty of Pelindaba: The Treaty on the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone was opened for signature in Cairo in April 1996. The treaty prohibits the research, development, manufacturing, stockpiling, acquisition, testing, possession, control, and stationing of nuclear explosive devices on any member’s territory. The treaty also prohibits the dumping of radioactive waste originating from outside the continent within the region. In addition, the treaty requires parties to apply International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards to all their peaceful nuclear activities. The treaty also provides for the establishment of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), which supervises treaty implementation and ensures compliance with its provisions. For additional information, see the ANWFZ.
Highly enriched uranium (HEU)
Highly enriched uranium (HEU): Refers to uranium with a concentration of more than 20% of the isotope U-235. Achieved via the process of enrichment. See entry for enriched uranium.
Reprocessing
Reprocessing: The chemical treatment of spent nuclear fuel to separate the remaining usable plutonium and uranium for re-fabrication into fuel, or alternatively, to extract the plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
Pressurized water reactor
A reactor in which the water which flows through the core is isolated from the turbine, unlike in a boiling water reactor. The primary water, contained in one loop, travels through an additional heat exchanger (or steam generator) and produces steam in the secondary loop which, in turn, powers the turbine. See entry for Boiling water reactor. 
Reprocessing
Reprocessing: The chemical treatment of spent nuclear fuel to separate the remaining usable plutonium and uranium for re-fabrication into fuel, or alternatively, to extract the plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel
Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel: A type of nuclear fuel used in light water reactors that consists of plutonium blended with uranium (natural, depleted or reprocessed). The MOX process also enables disposition of military plutonium, with the resulting fuel usable for energy generation.
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
The NSG was established in 1975, and its members commit themselves to exporting sensitive nuclear technologies only to countries that adhere to strict non-proliferation standards. For additional information, see the NSG.
Zangger Committee (ZC)
A group of 35 nuclear exporting states established in 1971 under the chairmanship of Claude Zangger of Switzerland. The purpose of the committee is to maintain a "trigger list" of: (1) source or special fissionable materials, and (2) equipment or materials especially designed or prepared for the processing, use, or production of special fissionable materials. Additionally, the committee has identified certain dual-use technologies as requiring safeguarding when they are supplied to non-nuclear weapon states. These include explosives, centrifuge components, and special materials. The Zangger Committee is an informal arrangement, and its decisions are not legally binding upon its members. For more information see the Zangger Committee. 
Anthrax
The common name of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, as well as the name of the disease it produces.  A predominantly animal disease, anthrax can also infect humans and cause death within days.  B. anthracis bacteria can form hardy spores, making them relatively easy to disseminate.  Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR/Russia have all investigated anthrax as a biological weapon, as did the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo.  Anthrax-laced letters were also used to attack the U.S. Senate and numerous news agencies in September 2001.  There is no vaccine available to the general public, and treatment requires aggressive administration of antibiotics.
Cholera
Cholera: A disease of the digestive tract caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. A water-borne disease, cholera infections usually occur via contaminated water or foods. Cholera causes severe diarrhea followed by severe dehydration, and can result in death within hours or days. Sanitation in the developed world has greatly lessened cholera’s public health impact. Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army used cholera against the Chinese military and civilian populations during World War II.
Botulinum Toxin
Botulism is caused by exposure to botulinum toxin (a neurotoxin).  Most often caused by eating contaminated foods, botulinum poisoning prevents the human nervous system from transmitting signals, resulting in paralysis, and eventually death by suffocation.  Botulinum toxin is the most toxic known substance. 15,000 times more toxic than VX nerve gas, mere nanograms of botulinum toxin will kill an adult human.  A significant bioweapons concern, botulinum toxin has been investigated as a weapon by Japan, the Soviet Union, the United States, Iraq and unsuccessfully by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo. 
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)
The BTWC: The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BTWC) prohibits the development, production, or stockpiling of bacteriological and toxin weapons. Countries must destroy or divert to peaceful purposes all agents, toxins, weapons, equipment, and means of delivery within nine months after the entry into force of the convention. The BTWC was opened for signature on April 10, 1972, and entered into force on March 26, 1975. In 1994, the BTWC member states created the Ad Hoc Group to negotiate a legally binding BTWC Protocol that would help deter violations of the BTWC. The draft protocol outlines a monitoring regime that would require declarations of dual-use activities and facilities, routine visits to declared facilities, and short-notice challenge investigations. For additional information, see the BTWC.
Mustard (HD)
Mustard is a blister agent, or vesicant. The term mustard gas typically refers to sulfur mustard (HD), despite HD being neither a mustard nor a gas. Sulfur mustard gained notoriety during World War I for causing more casualties than all of the other chemical agents combined. Victims develop painful blisters on their skin, as well as lung and eye irritation leading to potential pulmonary edema and blindness. However, mustard exposure is usually not fatal. A liquid at room temperature, sulfur mustard has been delivered using artillery shells and aerial bombs. HD is closely related to the nitrogen mustards (HN-1, HN-2, HN—3).
Phosgene (CG)
Phosgene (CG): A choking agent, phosgene gas causes damage to the respiratory system leading to fluid build-up in the lungs. Phosgene also causes coughing, throat and eye irritation, tearing, and blurred vision. A gas at room temperature, phosgene can be delivered as a pressurized liquid that quickly converts to gas. Germany and France used phosgene during World War I; the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia also produced military phosgene. Phosgene caused over 80% of the deaths from chemical gas during World War I.
Sarin (GB)
Sarin (GB): A nerve agent, sarin causes uncontrollable nerve cell excitation and muscle contraction. Ultimately, sarin victims suffer death by suffocation. As with other nerve agents, sarin can cause death within minutes. Sarin vapor is about ten times less toxic than VX vapor, but 25 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. Discovered while attempting to produce more potent pesticides, sarin is the most toxic of the four G-series nerve agents developed by Germany during World War II. Germany never used sarin during the war. However, Iraq may have used sarin during the Iran-Iraq War, and Aum Shinrikyo is known to have used low-quality sarin during its attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 people and injured hundreds.
VX
VX: The most toxic of the V-series nerve agents, VX was developed after the discovery of VE in the United Kingdom. Like other nerve agents, VX causes uncontrollable nerve excitation and muscle excitation. Ultimately, VX victims suffer death by suffocation. VX is an oily, amber-colored, odorless liquid.
Ratification
Ratification: The implementation of the formal process established by a country to legally bind its government to a treaty, such as approval by a parliament. In the United States, treaty ratification requires approval by the president after he or she has received the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. Following ratification, a country submits the requisite legal instrument to the treaty’s depository governments Procedures to ratify a treaty follow its signature.

See entries for Entry into force and Signature.
Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) requires each state party to declare and destroy all the chemical weapons (CW) and CW production facilities it possesses, or that are located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, as well as any CW it abandoned on the territory of another state. The CWC was opened for signature on 13 January 1993, and entered into force on 29 April 1997. For additional information, see the CWC.
Australia Group (AG)
Australia Group (AG): Established in 1985 to limit the spread of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) through export controls on chemical precursors, equipment, agents, and organisms. For additional information, see the Australia Group.
SSBN
Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear: A hull classification for a submarine capable of launching a ballistic missile. The "N", or nuclear, refers to the ship's propulsion system. SSBN's are generally reserved for strategic vessels, as most submarine launched ballistic missiles carry nuclear payloads. A non-strategic vessel carries the designation SSN, or attack submarine.
Cruise missile
An unmanned self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. There are subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles currently deployed in conventional and nuclear arsenals, while conventional hypersonic cruise missiles are currently in development. These can be launched from the air, submarines, or the ground. Although they carry smaller payloads, travel at slower speeds, and cover lesser ranges than ballistic missiles, cruise missiles can be programmed to travel along customized flight paths and to evade missile defense systems.
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
The MTCR: An informal arrangement established in April 1987 by an association of supplier states concerned about the proliferation of missile equipment and technology relevant to missiles that are capable of carrying a payload over 500 kilograms over a 300-kilometer range. Though originally intended to restrict the proliferation of nuclear-capable missiles, the regime has been expanded to restrict the spread of unmanned aerial vehicles. For additional information, see the MTCR.
International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missiles (ICOC)
ICOC: A legally non-binding arrangement that was launched with the objective of preventing and curbing the proliferation of ballistic missile systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. States adhering to the ICOC agree not to assist ballistic missile programs in countries suspected of developing biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, as well as to exhibit "restraint" in the development and testing of their own ballistic missiles. It eventually became the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missiles (HCOC). For additional information, see the HCOC.

Sources

  1. François Hollande, "La France aura moins de 300 têtes nucléaires," Le Monde, 22 March 2008,www.lemonde.fr
  2. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Yearbook 2020: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, 44th ed, Oxford University Press, 2020.p 350. ; François Hollande, "Discours sur la dissuasion nucle´aire - De´placement aupre`s des forces ae´riennes strate´giques. Istres (13)," 19 February 2015, www.elysee.fr; Emmanuel Macron,"Discours du Président Emmanuel Macron sur la stratégie de défense et de dissuasion devant les stagiaires de la 27ème promotion de l'école de guerre," 7 February 2020, www.elysee.fr.
  3. Hans Kristensen, "France," in Assuring Destruction Forever, ed. Ray Acheson (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 2012) 27-30
  4. Joseph Cirincione, Jon B. Wolfsthal, and Miriam Rajkumar, Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats, Second ed. (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005), p. 189.
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  8. Edward Cody, "After 43 Years, France to Rejoin NATO as Full Member," Washington Post Foreign Service, 12 March 2009, p. A08.
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  27. Bilan d’activités 2011, Direction Générale de l'Armement, pg 15, www.defense.gouv.fr; Hans M. Kristensen & Matt Korda, “French nuclear forces," 2019, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 75:1, 51-55.
  28. "La dissuasion aéroportée passe au tout Rafale," Ministère des Armées, 5 September 2018, www.defense.gouv.fr.
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  30. Declan Butler, "France seeks to clean up nuclear image," Nature 380, no. 6569, 7 March 1996, p.8.

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