France Gives World ‘Slap In The Face’ Decision To Resume Nuclear Testing Outrages World Leaders

France’s defiant decision to resume nuclear testing drew outrage from every corner of the world on Wednesday, but the month-old government serenely insisted the nation’s “vital interests” override diplomatic niceties.

South Pacific nations near the Polynesian atoll testing site accused France of “flagrant disregard.” New Zealand and Australia said they would freeze military relations. Moscow and Washington were critical.

But President Jacques Chirac flew to Washington for his first summit with President Clinton enjoying solid backing from his conservative government. Politicians and commentators said there was no doubt he deliberately timed the announcement as a show of independence and fortitude on the eve of his meeting with Clinton and the upcoming G-7 summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“It’s clear Chirac wanted to make a thunderous arrival on the international stage,” said Jean-Michel Boucheron, a Socialist Party defense expert. “I would have preferred his first message to the world to be a message of peace, rather than a slap in the face to 178 countries that signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

Chirac’s prime minister, Alain Juppe, went before the National Assembly to defend the test decision.

“France’s vital interests prevail over all other considerations, even of diplomatic nature,” Juppe said.

Chirac, at his first press conference since taking office May 17, said on Tuesday that France would abandon its 1992 moratorium on nuclear testing and conduct eight more tests between September and May. He promised France would halt all tests by May 1996 and sign a treaty banning such testing.

Chirac’s predecessor, Socialist Francois Mitterrand, suspended France’s testing program in 1992, prompting Russia, the United States and Britain to follow. China had been the only nuclear power to continue experimental nuclear blasts.

In Washington, the White House expressed regret at the French decision. Russia said the move could jeopardize international disarmament agreements.

But Juppe brushed aside the criticism, saying France shouldn’t heed complaints from powers that have conducted “10 times more tests” over the years and maintain arsenals that dwarf France’s “force de frappe.”

Juppe said Mitterrand’s suspension of testing three years ago was “premature,” disrupting efforts to develop computer simulation technology that would permanently end the need for tests.

France has no plans to develop new nuclear weapons or change nuclear strategy, and seeks only to verify the safety of existing weapons while advancing toward simulation technology, Juppe said.