France To Reduce Nukes By One-Third

At the launch of France’s fourth submarine known as “Le Terrible,” French President Nicholas Sarkozy said that the country will be reducing the number of its nuclear war heads by at least one-third.

According to France’s President Nicholas Sarkozy, the country will have less than 300 nuclear warheads after the reduction. But, he called the warheads as an “insurance policy.” Sarkozy addressed the reduction of warheads after the inauguration of France’s newest and fourth nuclear-armed submarine known as “Le Terrible.” After the inauguration, Sarkozy addressed the issue of the nuclear warheads in his speech about the policy of defense. In Sarkozy’s speech, he also addressed military spending. He said that the spending on the military needed to be examined again. While Sarkozy said he would reduce the number of nukes, he added that while France is no longer faced with the possibility of being invaded, it still faces threats. Sarkozy added that these threats come from the Middle East and Asia. He singled out Iran and its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment process. He also called on other nations to reduce their nuclear warheads as well. Sarkozy also urged that the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty to be finally ratified. During World War I and World War II, France was invaded. During World War II, France was under Nazi occupation. On a side note, a new book was published back in January from the diary of Helene Berr. Berr is considered to be France’s version of Anne Frank. After World War II, Europe was divided. Much of Eastern Europe was under Soviet control throughout the years of the Cold War. This is possibly what Sarkozy has meant that the threat of France being invaded is gone. In terms of Iran, there are already sanctions in place against the government for its refusal to stop the uranium enrichment process.