France is one of the five nuclear-weapon states recognized by the Non-Proliferation Treaty. As of 2025, the stockpile country's nuclear forces, the Force de dissuasion is estimated at 290 deployed nuc
One of four Triomphant-class submarines that carry nuclear-armed ballistic missiles
The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the American nuclear-powered carrier USS Enterprise (left), each of which carry nuclear-capable fighter aircraft
Protests in Australia in 1996 against French nuclear tests in the Pacific
Little Boy bomb
Gerboise Bleue was the codename of the first French nuclear test. It was conducted by the Nuclear Experiments Operational Group, a unit of the Joint Special Weapons Command on 13 February 1960, at the
France and weapons of mass destruction
…weapons. France remains the only NATO member to not participate in its Nuclear Planning Group. France was the fourth country to test a nuclear weapon, in 1960, and tested its first thermonuclear weapon in 1968. Charles de Gaulle was influential in the country's decision to develop both weapons and nuclear…
Students from Mali protesting in Leipzig against the French nuclear test