ABSTRACT
Nuclear weapons, Charles de Gaulle insisted, would permit France to lessen its dependence on the US and provide the means for an independent foreign policy. While the Communist Party continued to insist on a quasi-neutralist position for France, the Socialists gradually accepted the notion of a more active active French membership in the Atlantic alliance. At the tactical nuclear level, France is proceeding with the development and deployment of three new systems. First, the air force will soon be equipped with short-range air-to-ground nuclear missiles designed for interdiction strikes in Central Europe. Second, by 1992 the army will begin to replace the Pluton ground-to-ground missile with the more accurate Hades missile having a range of 200 miles. Third, the government is currently testing enhanced radiation warheads to be carried by the Hades missile. General de Gaulle's decision in the early 1960s to provide France with an independent nuclear deterrent generated sharp domestic opposition and allied criticism.
