1. Overview of laser fusion

This document gives a detailed overview of laser fusion research in Japan, China, Korea, United states and European Union. In all these countries projects of high power lasers were launched a few years ago and now laser facilities are being built all over the world. The combination of very high peak power and very short pulse has now opened a vast new field of unique and numerous applications: - the emission and acceleration of nuclei and particles (protons, positrons...) with applications in radiography, - the generation of coherent X-rays, - the simulation in reduced scale of what happens in the core of stars, - the ignition of fusion reactions, - the generation of ultra-high magnetic fields, and - photonuclear reactions with applications in radioactive waste transmutation. (A.C.)