Information report on the behalf of the foreign affairs, defence and armed forces Commission on France security, nuclear disarmament and non proliferation

This report first gives an overview of nuclear disarmament and non proliferation twenty years after the end of Cold War: evolution and status of Russia's and United States' nuclear weapon arsenals, France's and United Kingdom's trend to reduce their nuclear armament, reinforcement of China's nuclear armament, effects and limitations of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It notices that the new international context gave birth to some expectations and may lead to a lower nuclear pressure, notably with the influence of START negotiations between Russia and the United States, provided that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is ratified by more countries, and that negotiations promote a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. The report also outlines the importance of the promotion of better controlled peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It discusses the relationship between maintaining the world nuclear order and the reduction of international and regional tensions, and the importance of struggle against all forms of proliferation. It analyses the French nuclear posture in terms of security requirements, and in front of the zero nuclear option, in a context of ballistic missile proliferation, and in relationship with the issue of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe