French WMDs Dara and Melanie

Category: Weapons of Mass Destruction

France first tested a nuclear weapon in 1960 as a response to the Suez crisis as well as to distance themselves from NATO. They tested their first atom bomb in the French Algerian desert in the Sahara. France has about 350 weapons in their arsenal as of 2002. France is one of 5 signatories to the nonproliferation treaty that has nuclear weapons there are 184 states part of the treaty that don't have nuclear weapons. France is not part of the partial ban treaty since it was never ratified. But France has signed the Comprehensive Ban Treaty which bans all nuclear explosions no matter the purpose.