ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book focuses on years of research on France, and on the many, little known scholarly works published in the French language, to provide a 360-degree appraisal of where France is coming from, and where it is going when it comes to its defence policy. It argues that France has adapted to and tried to shape this ever-changing environment over the past decades. The book explores the decision to use military force to undertaking organisational reforms and to defining nuclear doctrine and capabilities, the institutional setup of the Fifth Republic gives a lot of power to the president. It shows how France has endeavoured to be a global power. The book explains France is a nuclear power whose capabilities have always been quite small compared to great powers, during the Cold War and today.
