France
Measures to Prevent Terrorists From Acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction
Weapons of mass destruction have massively changed the world and war in the
last century. Weapons of mass destruction and terrorism pose one of the gravest potential
risks to many countries throughout the world. A successful terrorist attack involving
weapons of mass destruction could result in hundreds of thousands of casualties and
produce far-reaching economic and political consequences. There are four categories of
weapons of mass destruction that terrorists may seek to acquire and use in a terrorist
attack: nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical. All of these types of weapons are
highly devastating. Some terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda, have openly stated
their desire to acquire and use nuclear weapons. The diffusion of scientific and technical
information regarding the assembly of nuclear weapons is now available on the Internet
and in black markets around the world for groups such as al-Qaida, which have increased
the risk that a terrorist organization could develop its own weapons of mass destruction
and pose an international threat.
France is known to have an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. France is
one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or biological weapons. France was
the fourth country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon in 1960. The
French military is currently thought to have possession of a weapons stockpile of around
300 operational nuclear warheads, making it the third-largest in the world. France ratified
the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1995, and approved the Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention in 1984, denying currently having chemical weapons. In 2006,
French President Jacques Chirac noted that France would be willing to use nuclear
weapons against a country that would be attacking France via terrorist means. He noted
that the French nuclear forces had been configured for this option. On March 21, 2008,
President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France will reduce its aircraft deliverable
nuclear weapon stockpile by a third (bringing it to 20), thus bringing the total French
nuclear arsenal to fewer than 300 warheads.
Since 2002, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution
presented by India and co-sponsored by France entitled “Measures to prevent terrorists
from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.” The Counter-Terrorism Implementation
Task Force was created in 2005 and is coordinated by Jean-Paul Laborde, a French
national. It established a working group more specifically charged with “Preventing and
Responding to WMD Terrorist Attacks.” With this resolution in mind, France considers
that sensitive export control helps lower the risk of terrorists’ accessing material,
facilities, equipment, and technology that could further the development of weapons of
mass destruction. To actively promote this, France held a workshop in October 2009
entitled “Resolution 1540 in the Gulf Region: Challenges for the Future.” France
supports financially and through input from its experts in the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) action to protect against nuclear and radiological terrorism. In
particular, it is promoting the implementation of the Code of Conduct on the Security and
Safety of Radioactive Sources. The European Union is the main contributor of IAEA
funds for nuclear security, having given over €20 million since 2004 ($27.5 million).
Overall, France encourages the definition and implementation of effective international
standards to ensure security of storage and handling of sensitive materials to prevent their
possession by terrorist organizations.