Soviet Commentary on the French 'Force de Frappe'

摘要

The principal themes in connection with the force de frappe (or force de dissuasion), and their treatment by Soviet commentators, are summed up as follows: The military significance of the French force is consistently belittled. The certainty of reprisal has been stressed in frequent assertions that the use of the nuclear force would bring on retaliation and the destruction of France itself. The force de frappe often is presented as essentially an instrument for exerting political, rather than military, pressure both on France's allies and on the Soviet Union. A substantial part of Soviet commentary on the force de frappe deals with its implications for FrenchGerman relations, from accusations of nuclear collusion between Bonn and Paris to suggestions that, ultimately, West Germany will be the chief beneficiary of the French program. One of the reasons for the comparative restraint of Soviet commentary on the force de frappe, may be a desire to keep the door open for some sort of Franco-Soviet understanding as one of several possible lines of Soviet policy toward Europe.