French Col. Julien Resplandy, air and space attache at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., sat down with Sentry on the sidelines of United States Strategic Command’s Deterrence Symposium in August 2024. The conversation revolved around a range of topics, including France’s goal to deter aggressors, commitments to the Indo-Pacific region, supporting international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the French defense ministry’s collaborations with the private sector and academia on innovation and research.
Resplandy joined the French Air Force Academy in 2001. He graduated in 2004 and completed pilot training in 2006. During his career, Resplandy has deployed to Libya to enforce United Nations resolutions, served on multiple missions in the United Arab Emirates and been in charge of the strategic air and space lessons-learned function for the French Air and Space Forces. He became the air and space attache at the French Embassy in Washington in 2024.
Define strategic deterrence and explain the main objectives and principles of France’s deterrence strategy.
French nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of French defense strategy. Nuclear deterrence is the ultimate guarantee of France’s security and independence. France’s deterrence is strictly defensive and is fundamentally aimed at preventing large-scale war. France seeks to deter any aggression or threat of aggression against its vital interests from any state, whatever form it takes. The definition of vital interests is the exclusive responsibility of the president of the republic.
An aggressor would be exposing himself to absolutely unacceptable damage targeting his centers of power, i.e., his political, economic and military nerve centers. Our traditional doctrine is based on the political singularity of nuclear weapons on the face that a nuclear war must not be fought because it cannot be won.
Indeed, there can only be losers in a confrontation involving these singular weapons, each of which is capable of delivering the energy equivalent to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of conventional munitions. Accordingly, France refuses to use the term “nuclear war” other than to dismiss this notion. The size of France’s nuclear arsenal is based on the principle of strict sufficiency, meaning that the scale of the arsenal is adjusted to the country’s defensive capabilities. France refuses the logic of a nuclear arms race.
France has a robust Indo-Pacific footprint and cooperates often with nations there. Talk about those trans-Atlantic partnerships and why the French commitment to the Indo-Pacific region matters and is important.
France is committed to proposing a strategic offer helping its regional partners to achieve stability in the Indo-Pacific and to build a collective security architecture. France is an Indo-Pacific nation with almost 2 million French nationals living in this area and more than 80% of its economic exclusive zone (EEZ) — 9 of the 11 million kilometers square — which is the second largest in the world.
For the French Ministry for the Armed Forces, the Indo-Pacific is an operational reality including three sovereignty forces (FAZSOI La Reunion, FANC New Caledonia, FAPF French Polynesia); two presence forces (in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates) and five sea commands. France deploys its most strategic military assets in the Indo-Pacific, continually demonstrating its capacity to project force over long distances in case of a major crisis and to help strengthen the sovereignty and security of different partners.
France’s priorities in the Indo-Pacific region as mentioned in the 2019 strategy remain the same:
- The protection and security of our overseas territories and their EEZs.
- The promotion and protection of the rule of law and multilateralism, which guarantee the principles of circulation in and access to the common spaces.
- Strengthened regional stability.
- While taking into account the effects of climate change.
Our Indo-Pacific strategy applies the notion of “strategic autonomy” to deliver, through partnerships, a global offer enabling regional states to contribute directly to regional stability and the upholding of rules, but also to promote collective security initiatives. Therefore, it stresses the need to consolidate our defense partnerships in the region and to act as a responsible Ally in order to prevent the dispersal of our efforts and better calibrate them according to shared interests and their regional coherence.
Favoring complementarity with the [United States], but also our European Allies and other Partners’ approaches, the strategy mentions by name the partnerships forged at the entrance of the Indian Ocean with Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. The 2024 Pegase mission reflects this ambition. Since 2018, the French Air and Space Force missions have demonstrated the capacity of the French Armed Forces to deploy to the Indo-Pacific at very short notice. For its 2024 edition, France invited its Spanish, German and British Partners to take part in the Pegase mission.
MARINE NATIONALE
How does French nuclear deterrence cope with the challenges posed by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea?
French nuclear deterrence is an all-direction deterrence that does not target any particular nation. Nevertheless, our capabilities allow appropriate and tailored strike options, offering the president a choice, in the most complex situations, between diversified and credible courses of action.
What are the two components of the French nuclear forces and how do they complement each other?
French deterrence is based on two components: one seaborne, the other airborne. Both contribute to the full spectrum of deterrence missions. Their respective capabilities make them complementary, complicate the task of adversary defenses and shield our deterrence from an unforeseen technological breakthrough in the fields of air defense, missile defense or underwater detection.
Explain what France is doing to support international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to promote arms control and disarmament.
In the nuclear realm, France is party to the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], which remains the cornerstone of the nonproliferation regime and an irreplaceable bulwark of our collective security. France is fully committed to the preservation of the treaty and the full implementation of its three pillars — nuclear nonproliferation, the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and nuclear disarmament within the framework of general and complete disarmament.
With regards to nuclear disarmament, France has an exemplary historical track record. France has declared a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and on nuclear testing.
France has also fully dismantled the land-based leg of its nuclear arsenal, has reduced the number of its nuclear warheads by half and seaborne and airborne components by a third since the peak of the Cold War.
How does France adapt its nuclear deterrence to the changing geopolitical and strategic environment?
France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine is stable but not static. In its history, it has adapted to changing strategic environments: the end of the Cold War, the rise of WMD [weapons of mass destruction], etc. France makes the necessary adaptations to ensure its deterrent remains efficient and credible at all times.
How do you respond to critics who say that nuclear deterrence is outdated, costly and dangerous?
France has always and will continue to invest in its nuclear deterrence because it is considered the cornerstone of our defense strategy but also our independence. Recent history and its rising challenges, including the direct threat of nuclear rhetoric back in Europe, has demonstrated that deterrence still remains relevant and indispensable to our security.
France has historically adopted the principle of “strict sufficiency,” and that principle has shaped the size of our arsenal to the minimum acceptable size to make our competitors understand that they could expose themselves to unacceptable damage in case of threatening our vital interests.
How do you prepare and train defense personnel and civilian officials for deterrence operations scenarios?
Our forces are permanently on alert on both legs of our components. Training for nuclear operations are conducted regularly to maintain a high level of proficiency on deterrence operations scenarios. All different levels of actors in nuclear operations are trained until the high-end decision level.
How do you coordinate with NATO Allies on nuclear planning and operations?
As we are outside the Nuclear Planning Group, we do not coordinate on nuclear planning and operations with our NATO Allies. Nevertheless, the independence of the French nuclear forces has a deterrent role on its own, by complicating the calculations of potential adversaries, contributing significantly to the overall security of the Alliance.
How do you deal with the emerging threats of cyberattacks, hybrid warfare and terrorism?
France developed a strong cyber model based on a strict separation between defensive and offensive capabilities. Our cyber organization relies on two main actors: ANSSI (National Agency for the Security of Information) for the cybersecurity networks and COMCYBER for the protection of our military networks and the conduct of our military operations. France always operates in strict compliance with international law. The cyber-crises coordination center (C4) coordinates these actors in case of major cyberattacks.
France has conceptualized hybrid warfare in an interservice document that focuses on five domains/priorities: cyber, informational, lawfare, economy and military operations. France is regularly targeted by hybrid activities in these five domains. These strategies aim at undermining our interests at home and abroad. For example, we have faced major disinformation campaigns from Russia in Africa but also in Paris.
On terrorism, France has an interservice approach. France is concerned by the continuation of terrorist actions from al-Qaida and the Islamic State. The Crocus City Hall attacks [in Russia] showed that they still have projection capabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, terrorism remains a major threat linked to competition with Russia (Wagner and disinformation). France is reorganizing its presence in the area and looking for new partnerships, as it is impossible to cooperate with the juntas. In France, the main terrorist threat comes from jihadist organizations of different kinds: homegrown or sent from abroad. The October 7 [2023] Hamas terrorist attack [on Israel] has reactivated the motivation for radicalized people to plan attacks in France. The last two deadly terrorist attacks on our territory in October and December 2023 were motivated by the situation in Gaza. France has reinforced its military and police presence at home with 700 Soldiers from the [ongoing anti-terrorist] Sentinelle operation and 10,000 police officers. We also face some terrorist threats from extremist political organizations consisting of planning armed attacks on ethnic communities or sabotage of strategic infrastructure, such as 5G antennas or railroad key infrastructures.
How do you collaborate with the private sector, academia and civil society on defense innovation and research?
The Ministry of Armed Forces’ Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) carries out forward-looking studies on developments in the international environment and, in particular, analyzes the risks and threats that could affect the security of France and the European Union.
It implements a system of support for external strategic research, reformed in 2015, to help consolidate this ecosystem (think tanks, research institutions, universities, etc.). Within this framework, priority is given to multiyear contracts to enable service providers to sustain and develop their pool of experts while consolidating their economic model.
In terms of support for academic research, the priority is “strategic succession,” i.e., the promotion of young researchers (doctoral and postdoctoral students) in the humanities and social sciences. The DGRIS also works to promote French strategic research on defense issues internationally. This ambition is reflected in the opening of a branch of the Institute for Strategic Research in Brussels in early 2024, one of the purposes of which is to house national researchers.
The ministerial mechanism is based on five priorities: filling the blind spots in strategic research and encouraging innovation; developing direct support measures for university research; helping to strengthen the economic model of think tanks; encouraging the internationalization of French research players; encouraging the mobilization and networking of research players.
In the field of defense innovation, to consolidate its action of capturing and supporting defense innovation, the Innovation Defense Agency develops partnership strategies with the actors and networks that structure the defense and technological industrial base and the world of civil innovation: professional groups, startup accelerators, associations, entrepreneur networks, competitiveness clusters and research centers.