France now has 350 nuclear warheads. This compares to Britain's 200, America's 11,000 and Russia's 19,000.
An interesting documentary entitled Blowing Up Paradise on BBC4 last night outlined how when the two main superpowers were already able to destroy the world a thousand times over, the French aspired to the capability of doing it at least once and how this would involve substantial 'elth 'azards in Polynesia.
The first Gallic mushroom cloud was bent due to the prevailing wind. Not quite the postcard image they had wanted. Contamination levels in unwashed food in the region were subsequently proved to be worse than Chernobyl. Unlike the Yanks with their Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, the French have never offered anyone any recompense for physical and environmental damage done during their aerial and underground eye-drodgin berm tests. "I don't wish to dwell on that" said the French strategic nuclear enthusiast Bruno Tertrais when asked why this might be.
"Our principle is to be strong and to be ourselves" observed de Gaulle when the programme was launched. The first French test was actually the 105th in the Pacific, but France is synonymous with testing in this region because of the way they systematically bullied anyone that objected. "Jamais de terrible" was how one retired Minister described the vicious beating of the Greenpeace protestors on the Vega in 1972 .
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