Defence Group<br />France's nuclear forces face up to their future: what's at stake, and at what price?

French nuclear forces face up to their future: what's at stake, and at what price? Philippe Wodka-Gallien, a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and member of the Institut Français d'Analyse Stratégique, has been passionate about international and defense issues for many years. An auditor at the 47th national session of the IHEDN - Armement Economie de la Défense - his expertise in the defense sector is also based on more than 20 years spent in the aeronautics, space and defense industry, where he was in charge of press relations. He is the author of several articles on deterrence published in Défense Nationale magazine, and is the author of Le Dictionnaire de la Dissuasion (Marines Editions), an encyclopedic, multidisciplinary work with over 300 entries on the history of nuclear forces worldwide, the crises of the Cold War, and the new risks associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. At a time when a new White Paper on defense is being drafted, deterrence remains central to the debate on the future of our defense policy. This conference will shed light on the strategies and resources required for deterrence. In particular, it will put into perspective the role of several critical technologies - navigation, telecommunications, electronic warfare, information technology - in the deterrent force system. To guarantee its future and performance, the French strike force has embarked on an ambitious simulation program, a subject that will be given particular attention. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to reflect on how to reformulate our discourse on deterrence, since nuclear weapons are also "weapons of mass communication".