History of the European dimension of France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine

Résumé 0

The French parliament’s rejection in August 1954 of the European Defence Community (EDC) project was motivated—in part—by the fact that, if implemented, it would have prevented France from being able to launch and develop its nuclear defense program freely. Nevertheless, this program was indeed launched—independently—at the end of that same year, 1954. And, emblematically, a similar debate arose shortly afterward with the first version of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) project. As we can see, the European framework had a negative impact on the launch of the French nuclear defense program from the very beginning. . . even though, paradoxically, initiatives were taken very early on by French political and military leaders in favor of a “European atomic pool” in the field of defense. However, having become an independent nuclear power under the Fifth Republic, France has, in one way or another, put the European dimension of its nuclear deterrence to the fore.