Since the Cold War, France has charted an independent course in nuclear policy, without relying on external security guarantees. But what makes France’s nuclear strategy different from that of the United States, United Kingdom or Russia? And how does it fit into the European security architecture today? In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by leading nuclear policy experts Héloïse Fayet, Emmanuelle Maitre and Dr Liviu Horovitz to discuss France’s nuclear programme that began in the shadows of World War II, as French leaders, including Charles de Gaulle, sought to ensure that the country would never again be left vulnerable to invasion or external political pressure. Unlike the UK, which fully integrated its nuclear programme with the United States, France pursued a self-sufficient approach, developing its own warheads, missiles and delivery systems.

Héloïse Fayet is a Research Fellow at the Security Studies Center and head of the Deterrence and Proliferation research program at Ifri. Her work focuses on nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, the impact of emerging technologies on strategic risk reduction and strategic stability, and Nuclear Weapons States’ doctrines.

Alexander Bollfrass is Head of Strategy, Technology and Arms Control, focusing on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction and related delivery systems, as well as risk reduction and arms control.

Emmanuelle Maitre is a Senior Research Fellow at the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique. A graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), she works on issues of nuclear non-proliferation, deterrence, and disarmament.  

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