France and Nuclear Weapons- Elena, Aramide

Category: Weapons of Mass Destruction

France devloped their nuclear weapons in the late 1950's and 1960's, as part of the Force de Frappe. France is said to have approximately 350 nuclear weapons. They have the fourth largest nuclear force in the world. They developed these weapons to distance themselves from NATO as a way to keep up with the rest of the world. France is a signatore to the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty. Despite this, France did not sign the Test Ban Treaty of 1963. Despite France agreeing to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons across the world, they did not agree to stop the testing of their nuclear weapons.