Self-reliance in France’s nuclear development and construction of strategic scientific and technological power

France’s nuclear development trajectory was fundamentally shaped by its civilian nuclear power program. Starting in late 1955, the principal framework for France’s military application of nuclear science and technology was formed, led by the Atomic Energy Commission, with the assistance of the military. The Atomic Energy Commission has thus become a “civil-military complex” that combines civilian and military research and development functions and has become an important strategic scientific and technological force in France. France solved the main scientific and technological issues in the nuclear development, developed an innovative design for an external neutron source and a more efficient implosion system, and set a record for the yield of the world’s first national nuclear test in 1960. This history shows that France has taken a different path from that of the United States and the United Kingdom, achieving self-reliance and technological innovation in the field of nuclear research.